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Souvenir "Lincoln" Documents
Because of Abraham Lincoln's preeminent place in American history, documents relating to him are very important and highly sought after. This interest is not a recent development. Following Lincoln's rise to national prominence, he received many requests for copies of his speeches and even just his autograph. Following President Lincoln's death, documents associated with him have become increasingly popular.
One result of this popularity was the production of souvenir copies of a number of well-known Lincoln related documents. These include the November 19, 1863 Gettysburg Address; the November 21, 1864 letter from Lincoln to the widow Bixby; and, the April 15, 1865 edition of the New York Herald announcing Lincoln's assassination.
Many such souvenir copies of these documents are "discovered" on a regular basis, with their finders often believing they have in fact found the original document. The information below should provide some help in determining the true history of these documents.
Historic paper and ink
One of the first steps in understanding the history of a document is to understand the paper and ink that were used.
Until the middle of the nineteenth century, the better-quality European and American papers were made primarily of clippings from new linen and cotton rags, although old rags, canvas sails, and pieces of rope and netting were also used . . . . With increasing literacy and greater need for paper, however, the continuing search for substitutes to be used instead of cotton and linen rags in papermaking led, in the 1850s and 1860s, to the development of papers based on wood pulp.
The Care of Antiques and Historical Collections
Bruce MacLeish,
2nd ed., [Nashville, TN: AASLH Press, 1985], p. 87.
Lincoln-era ink had a ferrous (iron) sulfate added to make it more permanent. As the ink ages and reacts to moisture in the air, the sulfate rusts and turns the ink brown.
Gettysburg Address
There are five known original copies of the Gettysburg Address in Lincoln's hand. These are located in various repositories throughout the nation. Two copies are in the collection of the Library of Congress; one is in the Lincoln Room of the White House; one is in the Olin Library, Cornell University; and one is in the collection of the Illinois State Historical Library on display at the Old State Capitol State Historic Site.
Library of Congress (2 copies)
Manuscripts Division
Washington, D.C. 20540
Illinois State Historical Library
Henry Horner Lincoln Collection
Old State Capitol
Springfield, Illinois 62701
The White House
Office of the Curator
Washington, D.C. 20500
Olin Library
Cornell University
Ithaca, New York 14853
A photograph of one of the Library of Congress copies can be found at their web site at http://lcweb.loc.gov/exhibits/gadd/. This historic document was written on two sheets of paper that have not browned over the years. Souvenir copies of the Gettysburg Address are often produced on large 11 x 17 "parchment" or old-looking dark brown, brittle paper.
There are several sources of information on the Gettysburg Address including:
Abraham Lincoln: His Speeches and Writings, by Roy Basler (The World Publishing Company, New York, Krause Reprint, 1981), a selective collection of Lincoln's writings with analysis;
Lincoln at Gettysburg, The Words that Remade America, by Garry Wills (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992), a thorough analysis of the speech;
Lincoln, Day by Day: A Chronology 1809-1865, by C. Percy Powell (Morningside Press, Dayton, 1991), a day by day account of Lincoln's activities throughout his life;
A New Birth of Freedom: Lincoln at Gettysburg, by Philip B. Kunhardt, Jr.(Little, Brown, and Company, Boston, 1983), which includes facsimiles of the addresses as well as a line by line comparison of each;
The Abraham Lincoln Encyclopedia, by Mark E. Neely, Jr. (New York: Da Capo Press, Inc., 1984), a compilation of brief articles on virtually all topics related to Lincoln;
The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, 9 Volumes (Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 1953), a collection of all known Lincoln writings.
Letter to the Widow Bixby
The Bixby letter is one of the most famous and controversial of Lincoln's writings and has seen a resurgence in interest following the 1998 movie Saving Private Ryan, in which it was read at the beginning of the movie.
The letter was written to a widow, Mrs. Lydia Bixby, after Lincoln learned that she had lost five sons in the Civil War. Scholars are still debating whether or not Lincoln or his secretary John Hay actually wrote the letter, although most today lean towards Hay's authorship.
The Bixby letter became quite famous following its publication in the November 25, 1864 2nd edition of the Boston Evening Transcript. The newspaper copy was based upon a copy of the letter that was sent to the Massachusetts Adjutant General. Although no one knows what the original Bixby letter looked like, souvenir copies in "Lincoln's handwriting" were created and sold as early as 1891.
To further complicate this story, it turns out that only two Bixby boys died in combat. Another son was honorably discharged, one was dishonorably discharged, and one either deserted or died in a prison camp.
The following is a transcript of the letter:
Executive Mansion,
Washington, Nov. 21, 1864
Dear Madam, --I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts, that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.
I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.
I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours, to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of Freedom. Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,
A. Lincoln.
April 15, 1865 New York Herald
Lincoln's assassination was, of course, a very important event in history. Newspaper accounts of major events quickly become collectors items.
Reproductions of the April 15, 1865 New York Herald were very popular and at least 61 reprints had been produced by the mid 1950s. All of the reproductions contain only four pages, while all but one of the originals contained eight pages. Additionally, the original editions did not include an illustration of Lincoln as is so common in the reproductions.
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