Lincoln Artifacts Competition

17 July 2008 by Libbi.

In March Lincoln Financial Foundation, the charitable giving arm of Lincoln Financial Group, announced make its collection of Lincoln artifacts “more accessible.”  In other words, LFF is holding a heck of a rummage sale. 

 The Lincoln Foundation currently owns one of the most extensive collections of Abraham Lincoln-related items including a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation and a Thirteenth Amendment signed by Abraham Lincoln, but it closed the doors to the museum in June.

The Lincoln Museum collection includes:

* 7,000 19th century prints
* 5,000 original 19th century photographs
* 350 documents signed by Abraham Lincoln
* 18,000 rare books and pamphlets
* 200,000 newspapers and magazine clippings
* 350 19th century sheet music titles
* Emancipation Proclamation
* Thirteenth Amendment (one of 13 copies signed by Lincoln)
* (79) 3-dimensional items

Lff wants partners with whom the Museum can explore exhibition options for its three-dimensional items digitize its documents in order to make the entire collection more visible and accessible to a greater number of people.

 “By collaborating with other museums, the Lincoln Foundation hopes to make these items available to a greater number of people using Abraham Lincoln’s bicentennial as a catalyst,” said Priscilla Brown, Vice President, Lincoln National Corporation.
The Lincoln Foundation is proactively pursuing a solution that benefits historical education and scholarship and exposes the collection to the largest possible audience.

The Lincoln Museum has operated in Fort Wayne, Ind., for many years, first as a library and then as a museum. AP is reporting that a consortium in Indiana is among the finalists to become the permanent home of the Lincoln Financial Foundation’s (LFF) collection of Abraham Lincoln artifacts and documents. The statewide team, led by groups from Fort Wayne and Indianapolis, was informed by the LFF on Tuesday that their proposal is among those making it to the last round of reviews.

The primary organizations involved with the effort are the Allen County Public Library and Indiana State Museum. The endowment will be dedicated to pay for expenses at the library and museum to maintain and to make the collection available to the widest possible audience.

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