Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum News


	For Immediate Release: July 14, 2008	Contact: David Blanchette (217) 558-0516
	Presidential portraits, a candidate's wife, and political cartoons "Blue Room Salon" August 22 recreates Mary Todd Lincoln's informal gatherings at the White House with three fascinating guests Springfield, IL — Mary Todd Lincoln liked to have informal evenings of socialization and "enlightenment" in the 1860s White House, and these gatherings of colorful and interesting characters will be re-created featuring a Presidential portrait expert, the wife of a prominent political candidate, and an award-winning political cartoonist during the "Blue Room Salon" scheduled for Friday, August 22 at 6:30 p.m. at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield. The August 22 evening will feature a Mary Todd Lincoln impersonator; Fred Voss, guest curator of the Museum's "Packaging Presidents" exhibit, senior historian at the National Portrait Gallery and author of Portraits of the Presidents: The National Portrait Gallery; Connie Schultz, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The Cleveland Plain Dealer and author of ...And His Lovely Wife: A Campaign Memoir from the Woman Beside the Man, about her experience with her husband, U.S. Senator-elect Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and his campaign; and Chris Britt, award-winning political cartoonist since 1991 for the Springfield State Journal-Register. Guests can stroll from room to room at the Museum to mingle with these participants. Books may be purchased at the event and will be signed by "Blue Room Salon" participants. The event is set against the backdrop of "Packaging Presidents: Two Centuries of Campaigns and Candidates," the temporary exhibit that may be viewed through General Election Day in the Museum's Illinois Gallery. Tickets for the Blue Room Salon go on sale July 14 for $35 per person or $60 per couple, with Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation members paying $30 per person or $55 per couple. The evening will include hors d'oeuvres, dessert and coffee with wine provided by event co-sponsor Hill Prairie Winery of Oakford, Illinois. Tickets may be ordered by visiting www.abelincolnmuseum.org or calling (217) 558-8934. Mrs. Lincoln was more educated and daring than most women of her day, and liked to surround herself with people to discuss politics, war, love and literature. These people often included prominent socialites, literary sorts, politicians, and what were characterized as "notorious" men. Gatherings featuring these people, called salons, were held in the White House Blue Room and Mrs. Lincoln would move gracefully from one conversation to another, immensely enjoying her role as a fashionable, well-informed hostess. ###