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 The acquisition of this unique collection has been made possible
through purchase by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and
Museum and a generous gift from the Taper family. The acquisition
greatly enhances the museum's outstanding and far-ranging collection
of documents and artifacts and advances its position as the foremost
center for the study of Lincoln's life, times and enduring
relevance.
Among the highlights of the Taper collection are:
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Lincoln's iconic
stovepipe hat.
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The blood-stained
gloves and handkerchief Lincoln carried on the night of his
death.
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A vast number of
artifacts, personal effects and unpublished correspondence
belonging to Mary Todd Lincoln.
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An 1824 Sum Book
page, which contains the first known sample of Lincoln's
writing.
The Taper Collection also includes extensive holdings relating to
the Booth family, including assassin John Wilkes Booth and his
brothers, Junius Brutus Booth Jr. and Edwin Booth -- who,
ironically, saved the life of Lincoln's son, Robert, two years
before Lincoln's assassination. These artifacts offer a multifaceted
portrait of the Booths, the first theatrical family in U.S. history,
and go beyond the terrible act committed by John Wilkes Booth to
show a family torn apart by the Civil War, as were so many others.
The acquisition comes during a period of growing national
fascination with Lincoln, one of the most beloved and most
misunderstood figures in American history. Unlike other major
collections of Lincoln artifacts, objects in the Taper Collection
were acquired based not only on their use for scholars, but on their
emotional and intellectual value, providing new insight into
Lincoln's rise from poverty, his relationship with his wife and his
despair over the death of two of his children.
"The Taper Collection is unprecedented in its breadth and depth,
allowing us a new understanding not only of Lincoln as president,
but as an intellectually and emotionally complex man," said Rick
Beard, executive director of the Lincoln Presidential Library.
"These artifacts are of incredible value not only to the scholarly
study of Lincoln, but to the sense of ourselves as a nation and
people that was so profoundly shaped by his ideals."
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum brings an
innovative, experience-based approach to its audience, with multiple
tableaus and interactive exhibits depicting the narrative of
Lincoln's life, and galleries containing many personal items used by
the president and his wife. The museum's mission, to move beyond
mythology and provide visitors with an intimate and nuanced portrait
of Lincoln, will be reinforced as items from the Taper Collection
are incorporated into the programming and exhibitions.
The newly acquired objects will be seen in museum exhibits
beginning July 3 with a small exhibition of items in the museum's
galleries. The library and museum is also working to develop
traveling exhibitions featuring key documents from the Taper
Collection. The Treasures Gallery, a designated exhibition space
within the museum, will be renamed later this year in honor of Ms.
Taper.
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 About the Taper Collection
Comprising an extraordinary number of high-quality artifacts and
documents, the Taper Collection is unparalleled in its breadth among
all private Lincoln collections. The collection was carefully built
by Louise Taper, who first began to collect Lincoln artifacts after
being deeply moved by a biographical novel about the marriage of the
16th president. Fascinated by Lincoln, "the human being, the family
man," she took a part-time job with a manuscript dealer in Los
Angeles, forgoing a salary in exchange for payment in historical
documents. After a year, she had earned her first piece -- a message
written to Lincoln during the Civil War, with the president's
signature at bottom. She has worked persistently since to acquire
objects that not only documented Lincoln's presidential career, but
which shed new light on his personal life, on his relationships with
those closest to him and on the unique circumstances of life during
the Civil War.
Her interest in Lincoln was furthered by her 1985 marriage to
Barry Taper, a member of the prominent Los Angeles Taper family and
son of philanthropist S. Mark Taper. The resulting collection, which
reflects Taper's passionate investment in Lincoln's history,
includes the largest known (after the Abraham Lincoln Presidential
Library and Museum collection) assortment of correspondence
belonging to Mary Todd Lincoln, as well as the most extensive
archive of materials from the Booth family. In addition to its value
in scholarly study, the collection provides the most personal and
nuanced portrait to date of Lincoln's rich and varied life.
"The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum has shown
its wholehearted commitment to promoting and preserving the
artifacts that illuminate all of Lincoln's history, not just as a
president, but as a man, a father, a husband," said Louise Taper.
"We are delighted to further the library's mission through this gift
of the collection, which we hope will allow the public to gain a
fuller understanding of this complex and fascinating American
leader."
About the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
Combining showmanship and scholarship, the Abraham Lincoln
Presidential Library and Museum communicates the amazing life and
times of Abraham Lincoln in unforgettable ways. Using advanced
technologies often associated with popular entertainment, yet
maintaining rigorous standards of scholarship, the ALPLM provides a
fully immersive experience, enabling 21st-century visitors to
inhabit Lincoln's life and times. Open since April 2005, the ALPLM
has welcomed over 1 million visitors.
[Text
from Abraham Lincoln Presidential
Library and Museum news release received from the
Illinois Office of Communication and Information]
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