Lincoln letter being sold in Philadelphia for $40,000

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A 165-year-old letter from Abraham Lincoln is being sold in Philadelphia for $40,000.

The Raab Collection is selling the 1849 letter penned by Lincoln, which offers insight into his stint as a congressman.

They say letters from this time period are extremely rare.

"This is before the age of the typewriter, so Lincoln wrote the letters himself," said Steven Raab.

Lincoln represented Illinois in Congress from 1847 to 1849.

"This was really Lincoln stepping out into the national limelight. Before then, he had been strictly an Illinois politics. He supported Zachary Taylor for president in 1848 and worked really hard for Taylor," Raab said.

When Taylor was elected, Lincoln expected that he would be able to influence jobs for people in Illinois - what he's attempting in this letter:

"He is trying to find a job for the person who's done the model for his patent," said Raab.

The person is Walter Davis, a mechanic, who patented Lincoln's design for a boat that would clear river sandbars. Davis had appealed to Lincoln for a political appointment, something the future president hoped to arrange.

"But Lincoln knew a move like that would be sensitive. If you look closely at the letter, you'll notice he wrote 'It will perhaps be better for both you and me for you to say nothing about this,'" Raab said.

The Raab Collection is the nation's leading dealer in important historical documents. Lincoln's letter joins several other original artifacts that have been specially curated for the holiday season.

Once is an order signed by Lincoln that ratified a treaty between the U.S. and China.

Another is a Revolutionary War document personally signed by President George Washington to thank his troops when they were discharged.