Our Lincoln: Bicentennial Icons from the Barton Collection of Lincolniana

Curated by Daniel Meyer.

Marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, this exhibition presents a selection of documents and artifacts from the University of Chicago Library's William E. Barton Collection of Lincolniana. The Barton Collection was acquired by the Library in 1932 and served for decades as a focus of Lincoln interest in Chicago and the Midwest. Selected items were exhibited at Chicago's Century of Progress Exposition, and the collection was later installed in its own museum room in Harper Memorial Library on the University of Chicago campus. Among the notable icons of Barton Collection on display in this exhibition are a handwritten page from the young Lincoln's "Sum Book"; one of the few surviving letters written by Lincoln to his wife Mary Todd Lincoln; bronze casts of sculptor Leonard Volk's life mask and hands of Lincoln; a large wool shawl once owned by Lincoln; a little known oil portrait of Lincoln; and a presentation copy of the Emancipation Proclamation signed by Lincoln.

The organization of these webpages mirrors the arrangement of the original exhibition.

Exhibit Publications & Documents

Exhibit Text