Rare handwritten letter is from Lincoln to Treasury Secretary Smith . In the short note , torn from the center of a bound volume , Lincoln tells Chase to do a small favor on behalf of someone recently fired from his job with the federal government . ` Letter is dated four days before Lincoln delivered Gettysburg Address . Larry Cutler says he had owned the letter for several years . Cutler returned the letter to the National Archives on Thursday .
Rare handwritten letter is from Lincoln to Treasury Secretary Smith . Letter is dated four days before Lincoln delivered Gettysburg Address . Larry Cutler says he had owned the letter for several years . Cutler returned the letter to the National Archives on Thursday .