Property from the Estate of Judge Joel M. Flaum, Chicago, IL

Description:

Group of Abraham Lincoln Ephemera & Prints and Civil War Period Maps, comprising two copies of a cartoon print by Mauldin, 1963, for the Chicago Sun-Times, of the Abraham Lincoln Monument (each with toning, wear to edges, creases and small tears); an etching of a Lincoln monument, signed 'Schneider, Sept. 1926' lower right (poor condition, toned, mat burn, tears, losses and creases to edges); The New York Herald, Sunday April 16, 1865, newspaper pages discussing President Lincolns death, headline reads 'Our Loss, The Great National Calamity, Death of the President...' (toned, folded, creases across folds with associated tears, wear and small losses to edges); an 1865 'Funeral March to the Memory of Abraham Lincoln' Sheet Music (toning, stains in top right corner and bottom right edge, foxing, cover page separated, wear, creases, minor tears to edges); and a group of nine 'Civil War Period Maps of the Southern States of America by J. Calvin Smith' produced by Kag Industries, Cincinnati, OH (minor toning, wear to edges, maps folded and creases).

The vocation of the late United States Court of Appeals Judge Joel M. Flaum was the law. His avocation was collecting. A self-described “picker,” he collected the works of early and mid-twentieth century Chicago and Illinois artists, World War I posters, presidential memorabilia, and mementos of his extraordinary judicial and military careers.

Originally from Hudson, New York, Flaum worked as a stock boy in his family’s small grocery store before graduating from Union College and moving to Chicago where he received his J.D. and Masters of Law from Northwestern University. He worked as a county, state, and federal prosecutor before serving for nearly fifty years as a federal judge on the trial court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago. For over twenty years, he served in the U.S. Naval Reserve, attaining the rank of Lieutenant Commander in the JAG Corps.

Flaum’s exceptional legal career was capped in 2024, when he received at the United States Supreme Court the Edward J. Devitt Award, the highest honor that can be bestowed on a federal judge. .

A lifelong lover of art and student of history and politics, Flaum was fascinated by World War I posters, in part because they were created by well-known contemporary artists and because they were the first posters designed for political purposes—to engage all sectors of society in the war effort. His eclectic collection, built over the span of his remarkable life, includes antique maps and prints of his native Hudson Valley, New York to President Abraham Lincoln collectables from his adopted home state of Illinois, and more.

Measurements: Height: Various

Condition:

Vintage condition, all with general wear, toning and foxing, see description for details.

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