Lincoln chair to be sold before Oscars

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FAIRFIELD, Conn., Feb. 16 (UPI) -- A U.S. rare-documents dealer says a lucky fan of the movie "Lincoln" could be parked in the president's actual chair when the Academy Awards air this month.

The chair Abraham Lincoln was sitting in when he was told in 1860 he had been nominated for president by the fledgling Republican Party will be put up for sale on eBay Feb. 8 and delivered to the new owner in time for the Feb. 28 Oscar telecast, which will feature the new Lincoln movie among the nominees for best picture, the dealer said.

"We're offering a unique opportunity for collectors with a passion for history to own numerous Lincoln documents and artifacts," said Seth Kaller, a Connecticut documents dealer who will be part of the sale said in a written statement.

The bidding will begin at $1 million and some of the proceeds will go to the human-rights activist group Free the Slaves, which is working to end human bondage worldwide, the statement said.

The sale will include other Lincoln memorabilia, including a letter he wrote denouncing the Supreme Court's landmark Dred Scott decision, and a number of rare books and documents signed by other historical figures of the time.

James Cornelius, a curator at Lincoln's presidential library in Illinois, said he hoped the new owners of the chair and other items would donate them to the library's collection.