Abraham Lincoln Presidential
Museum
to unveil new temporary exhibit,
'Mr. Lincoln's Attic'
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Exhibit showcases recent acquisitions of the Abraham
Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
[JAN. 26, 2006]
SPRINGFIELD -- On Jan. 28, the Illinois Gallery
will open its doors to the public to reveal "Mr. Lincoln's Attic," an exhibit
that will showcase recent acquisitions to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential
Library and Museum. What makes this exhibit unique is that several of the items
reflect how Abraham Lincoln is still an inspiration to many -- even 140 years
after his death.
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Publicity generated over the past few years by the construction and
opening of the library and museum has motivated a number of
individuals to rummage through their own attics, looking for
Lincoln-related items. The result has been an increase in donations
of especially rare and historically significant artifacts. Some of
these gifts will be on public display for the first time. "Since
the ALPLM has never had an acquisitions budget, we are dependent,
like Blanche Dubois, on the kindness of strangers for donations of
Lincolniana," said Richard Norton Smith, executive director of the
presidential library and museum. "The last year has been among the
most fruitful since the establishment of the Old Illinois State
Historical Library in the 19th century."
Items on display include:
Portrait of Lincoln by Francis Bicknell Carpenter: Lincoln
granted the prominent New York portrait painter unprecedented access
to the White House for six months, February-July 1864. During that
time, Carpenter transformed the state dining room into a White House
studio and produced many life sketches of Lincoln and companion
portraits of him and Mary.
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Judge Abraham Lincoln Marovitz collection: The son of Jewish
Lithuanian immigrants, Abraham Lincoln Marovitz's parents gave their
son this name out of their admiration for Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln
Marovitz was a lifelong student of Lincoln and had great respect for
him. Appointed in 1963 by John F. Kennedy as a federal judge in the
Northern Illinois U.S. District, Judge Marovitz owned every book
ever written about Abraham Lincoln's legal career. His judge's
chamber was a small museum of Lincoln-related items. Upon his death
in March 2001, at the age of 95, his estate donated the judge's
extensive collection to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and
Museum.
Personal artifacts of Grace Bedell: Just 11 years old in the
autumn of 1860, Grace Bedell wrote a letter to Lincoln after seeing
his image on a campaign poster. Saying Lincoln's image was "rather
disappointing," she wrote a letter to Lincoln suggesting he might
"look a great deal better" with whiskers. Lincoln responded with a
letter that became a treasured item to Grace. The two eventually met
on Feb. 16, 1861, as Lincoln's inaugural train passed through
Grace's hometown of Westfield, N.Y. Items on display in this
collection include Bedell's ring and Bible.
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Albert Emile Bachelet stereoscope: Albert Emile Bachelet
suspected he was seeing more than doubles of various Lincoln
photos at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. This Bell Labs
scientist -- holder of 36 patents in the field of long-distance
broadcasting and satellite communication technology -- was also a
Lincoln aficionado. When he learned that famed Civil War
photographer Matthew Brady sometimes used multiple-lens cameras, he
became convinced that what appeared to be multiple copies of Lincoln
poses were really stereoscopic pictures shot simultaneously by the
special lens cameras to produce a three-dimensional image. He built
a stereoscope in the Bell Labs model shop and tested his theory
during the mid-1940s. He concluded that Brady had intended more than
just the rapid production of commercial images.
The stereopticon -- popular from Lincoln's time up through the
early 20th century -- was that earlier era's version of the
View-Master, a device for producing a three-dimensional effect from
a two-dimensional image. Bachelet's widow, Janet Bower
Bachelet, generously donated her husband's stereoscope, negatives
and research notes to the Illinois State Historical Library,
predecessor of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.
Other items on display include oil paintings, Lincoln busts,
books, vases, fine china, collectables and more -- all enriching the
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum for countless
visitors to come.
For more information see
http://www.alplm.org/visit/home.html.
[Abraham Lincoln
Presidential Library and Museum news release]
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