Happy Birthday to the man on the penny-Abraham Lincoln. Growing up in Illinois, I’ve seen and heard a lot of Lincoln; From ‘Land of Lincoln’, to New Salem, to Springfield home, to Lincoln Museum, to Oak Ridge Cemetery, school trips have taken me there. I have a lot of Lincoln books, but will discuss some of the more interesting ones.
First is a pop-up book “Abraham Lincoln, an Adventure in Courage”, 1992. A nice pop-up is shown, when the book is opening, Young Abe Lincoln’s ax is actually moving.
Next is a copy of “Lincoln’s Devotional” 1957, with slipcase. It is a copy of the devotional that reportedly, Lincoln carried with him always. It is believed to have been given to him at the First Presbyterian Church in Springfield, where Lincoln had a pew.
My Mother and I, when book hunting in Springfield, decided to visit the church. We asked to see Lincoln’s pew and the Tiffany stained glass windows. The elderly lady (older than my mom) told us that part of church was closed. ”What part is open?” my mom quickly asked. We were told that the meditative labyrinth downstairs was available to walk through. We readily accepted. We talked to the lady about our adventures, and she told us to see her when we were done walking the maze. When we thanked her, she said, “you know what. Let me turn on the lights to the chapel. I don’t have a docent to tour you through, but if you would like to just walk around, let me know when you are done, and I will turn the lights back off.” We were able to see the stained glass windows, the pew, and the wonderful pipe organ. It was beautiful.
Next is a book “Abraham Lincoln, Plowboy, Statesman, Patriot, by W.G.Rutherford, printed around 1910. As well as a good history of Lincoln, this book is from England-The Splendid Lives Series published by The National Sunday School Union. I have a collection of 20 or so of these books. What is neat is that many of them have a bookplate that awards a student for attendance, or scripture testing, or memorization. I like the idea of using books as rewards.
The next two books on the bookstand are “Citizen of New Salem” by Paul Horgan, 1961. It is a nice story of living in New Salem during Lincoln’s time. Then there is a very involved new book about Lincoln as a lawyer “Hell Gate of the Mississippi, the Effie Afton Trial and Abraham Lincoln’s Role in it.”, by Larry A. Riney, 2006. This is a engaging story of a steam ship that crashed into a bridge across the Mississippi river, and the lawsuit between steam travel and locomotive travel. Lincoln was one of the lawyers. The book is signed for me by the author.
We have a few more books that I will quickly mention, as they are worth reading. ”Nancy Hanks, Mother of Lincoln” by Charles Ludwig, 1965; “Mary Lincoln, biography of a Marriage” by Ruth Painter Randall; “Abraham Lincoln: His Speeches and Writings”, 1946; and “Abraham Lincoln, the Prairie Years, and the War Years” by Carl Sandburg, 1954. This is a one volume book considered to be the most informed biography of Abraham Lincoln.
This would be my “two cents” about Abraham Lincoln. Why could Lincoln never be arrested? He was in-a-cent.
Keep reading, even if by firelight…
Librarytomes 