Pages past - Nov. 27

On this date ...

1979: Historic artifacts, along with valuable paintings, jewelry and firearms worth an estimated $280,000 were recovered by police in Clovis and Hobbs.

The items had been reported missing months earlier in Texas by rare books and document dealers.

Items recovered included an anecdote hand-written by Abraham Lincoln, an early printing of the U.S. Constitution and a first edition copy of James Fenimore Cooper’s “The Spy,” the Clovis News-Journal reported.

Officials said the Lincoln document was valued at $15,000.

A Clovis man was charged with the thefts, but told police he purchased at least some of the items on credit.

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