Overview

• In late June at Sotheby’s New York sale, Griffin paid $13.7 million for Lincoln’s handwritten copy of the 13th Amendment and $4.4 million for a signed Emancipation Proclamation, breaking previous auction benchmarks.
• The amendment manuscript is one of four remaining Lincoln-signed copies in private hands, and only 27 signed Emancipation Proclamations are known to exist.
• He plans to lend the Lincoln manuscripts alongside his Constitution copy to public institutions like the National Constitution Center, where they will be on view through 2026.
• His 2021 purchase of a rare delegate-print Constitution cost $43.2 million and included a $15 million endowment that funded the renamed Great Hall at the National Constitution Center.
• Griffin said the acquisitions commemorate the abolition of slavery and advance the principle of equality, reflecting his blend of private stewardship and public philanthropy.