Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum News


	For Immediate Release: October 26, 2006	Contact: Jill Burwitz (ALPLM) (217) 558-8970 office (217) 299-6165 cell
	Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum unveils new Lincoln artifacts Objects include rare 1860 Lincoln campaign biography, George P. Healy portrait of Lincoln and Robert Todd Lincoln letters Springfield, Ill. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (ALPLM) Interim Executive Director Thomas F. Schwartz announced the acquisition of several new Lincoln artifacts today during a press conference at the Museum. One of the artifacts was donated by collector Kent Tucker, the others purchased from various collectors and dealers adding to the ever growing Lincoln collection at the ALPLM. "The acquisition of materials from Kent Tucker is an important addition to the research materials found in the Henry Horner Lincoln Collection," said Thomas F. Schwartz, Interim Executive Director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. "The Reuben Vose 1860 Lincoln campaign biography is the rarest item any research library could hope to acquire. We now have it. The GPA Healy portrait is another major addition to our already superb collection of Lincoln portraits from life. The fact that Mr. Tucker selected the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library as the home for his collection speaks volumes for this institution as the leading national center for Lincoln research." Among the new acquisitions include: Donation of a rare 1860 Lincoln campaign biography by Reuben Vose. This copy is only the fourth known to exist. This extremely rare biography comes from the Kent Tucker collection. Purchase of a George Peter Alexander Healy portrait of Abraham Lincoln, presumably from life. In Healy's autobiography, he discusses his stay in Washington, D.C. during the Civil War and his visits to the White House to sketch and paint Lincoln. This portrait is signed by Healy but not dated. Items from the purchase include 45 autograph letters from Mary Harlan Lincoln, wife of Robert Todd Lincoln, and Mary Lincoln Isham, daughter of Mary Harlan and Robert Todd Lincoln. Four typescript drafts of books by William E. Barton, one of the most prolific Lincoln biographers in the early Twentieth Century along with Barton's marginal notes and corrections. A letter of Robert Todd Lincoln to Henry White dates January 13, 1890 describing the latest doctor reports on his son Abraham Lincoln II whose nickname was Jack. White was the secretary of the American embassy in London where Robert served as Minister to the Court of St. James (Americans would not use the title Ambassador until 1893. The title of "Minister" was just below Ambassador). Jack suffered from blood poisoning from an infected cut. This letter was the first indication that there was no medical cure for Jack's condition and that he would eventually die. Jack died on March 5, 1890 in London. Since August of 2004, with the donation of Lincoln's leather portfolio, the ALPLM has received private gifts of manuscripts, photographs, broadsides, prints, books and other items totaling over $1 million in appraised value. Many of these items add to the knowledge of Lincoln and his family and may be on display in future Museum exhibits. ###