973.7L63 The Lincoln National E5L632 Life Foundation: A Brief Summary of Its Objectives and Its Achievements LINCOLN ROOM UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY MEMORIAL the Class of 1901 founded by HARLAN HOYT HORNER and HENRIETTA CALHOUN HORNER Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign http://archive.org/details/lincolnnationallOOfort THE LINCOLN NATIONAL LIFE FOUNDATION THE COVER ILLUSTRATION The heroic statue of "Abraham Lincoln, the Hoosier Youth" is the first successful effort to visualize the railsplitter during his formative years in Indiana. This study in bronze, dedicated September 16, 1932, stands in the plaza of the Home Office building of The Lincoln National Life Insurance Com- pany at Fort Wayne, Indiana. A bronze tablet on the granite base of the statue bears the inscription which follows: ABRAHAM LINCOLN CAME TO INDIANA IN 1816 WHEN BUT SEVEN YEARS OLD. UPON BECOMING OF AGE IN 1830 HE MIGRATED TO ILLI- NOIS. THIS STATUE BY PAUL MANSHIP PORTRAYS ABRAHAM LINCOLN AS A HOOSIER YOUTH. THE LINCOLN NATIONAL LIFE FOUNDATION A Brief Summary of Its Objectives and Its Achievements Only at long intervals of time do characters emerge who belong to the ages. When one comes unheralded, his full worth is not immediately ap- preciated; but gradually the spark of genius which emanates from his personality inspires all who come within its glow. Such a person of renown was Abra- ham Lincoln, whom the English historian H. G. Wells has named as one of the six outstanding im- mortals of world civilization. Remembering that Lincoln lived in Indiana during his most impressionable years, one quarter of his whole life to be exact, one would expect to find in this state some memorial effort which might contribute to a better understanding of his growth and achievements. Such an historical project has been realized in the establishment of the Lincoln National Life Foundation. From its very inception in 1928 under the di- rection of Dr. Louis A. Warren, an outstanding Lincoln student, the Foundation has made an ex- haustive search for every fragment of information that might throw more light upon the life and works of the martyred American President. The result of this intensive and far-reaching program has brought to the library and museum of the Foundation the largest collection of organized in- formation ever gathered about an historical char- acter. This brief summary of the Foundation activities sets forth its program of work and the availability of its archives for serious study of this figure who personifies our American civilization. The Library A most comprehensive collection of literature has been assembled in the library of the Foundation, and it is accessible to students. The books, pamph- lets, and periodicals are classified and arranged in five different divisions: Lincolniana, association books, collateral publications, magazine articles, and newspaper clippings. Lincolniana — Books and pamphlets, exclusively Lincoln, are included here. This collection of literature, numbering 4700 titles of which 250 are in foreign languages, requires over 200 lineal feet of dust-proof steel cases to display and protect them. Association Books — Books similar to those Lincoln read comprise this exhibit. The 150 books in this section constitute an important division of the library and assist the student in orienting himself in an atmosphere contemporaneous with Lincoln's day. Collateral Publications — Biographies of Lincoln's asso- ciates, histories of the communities where he lived, reminis- cences of men who knew him, and discussions on political sub- jects are gathered in this compilation. About 2000 such books form an invaluable source library supplementing the publica- tions exclusively Lincoln. Periodicals — More than 3000 magazine articles on Lin- coln have been separately bound. These are indexed according to subject, author, and title of publication. Complete files of leading historical magazines which have featured Lincoln data are also available. Newspapers contemporary with Lincoln's day have also been properly filed and indexed. Clippings — Over 30,000 pages of clippings filed under more than 3000 different specified subjects relating to Lin- colniana are available for reference. Forty steel files are neces- sary to distribute and to systematize this mammoth scrapbook. The Museum Display features of unusual Lincoln interest are to be found in the museum. Several oil paintings, original photographs, contemporary prints, broad- sides, metallic subjects, and curios have been acquired. Paintings— Some of America's best known artists — Pruett Carter, Dean Cornwell, J. C. Leyendecker, and Frederic Mizen, to name a few — have made oil paintings for the Foun- dation depicting various human-interest episodes in Lincoln's life. Original Photographs — A large and valuable collection of over 100 Lincoln photographs from the original negatives are displayed in an impressive chronological arrangement. Prints — More than 3000 different prints of Lincoln have been collected, comprising engravings, woodcuts, etchings, lithographs, and pictures by modern reproductive processes. These prints are all catalogued and systematically displayed or filed. Broadsides — Rare broadsides consisting of contempoiary political posters, addresses, ballots, and a large number of caricatures have been assembled. Metallic Lincolniana— Several busts, statuettes, plaques, medallions, and over 150 Lincoln medals are in the museum display. The Archives The department of archives is especially rich in documents relating to Lincoln's ancestry, Kentucky environments, and early Indiana history; also in original writings of Abraham Lincoln and his con- temporaries. Genealogy — Genealogical lists of 1200 Hanks families and hundreds of family letters comprise the largest collection of documents ever assembled about Lincoln's maternal an- cestry. Kentucky Records — Thousands of records copied from original entries in Kentucky courthouses are available, and 1200 original manuscripts dating back to 1780 have been assembled. Indiana History — The Richard Thompson collection of manuscripts, comprising 1200 items contemporary with Lin- coln's day, gives a fine picture of political life in Indiana at that time. Washington Records — Personal correspondence and documents (numbering 25,000 original papers) throw much light on the political situation in Washington during the Lin- coln administration and the reconstruction period. Twenty- five documents in Lincoln's own hand are in the collection. The Lincolniana Publishers Urgent requests by Lincoln students that the Foundation furnish them with copies of photo- graphs, photostats, and out-of-print books called for the establishment of a separate sales organiza- tion known as Lincolniana Publishers. Photographs — Prints from more than 1000 negatives por- traying nearly every phase of the Lincoln story are available. Photostats — Photostatic reproductions of manuscripts in the Foundation, rare books and pamphlets where the copy- right permits, and magazine articles, newspaper clippings, broadsides, and other such items are obtainable. Books and Pamphlets — The Foundation is constantly acquiring small collections of books to supplement its own li- brary. This causes many duplicates to be turned over to the Lincolniana Publishers for resale. The Publications Three publications are issued periodically by the Foundation: Lincoln Lore, The Lincoln Kinsman, and The Lincoln Digest. Books and pamphlets on Lincoln subjects are also published from time to time. Lincoln Lore — Each week for over ten years the Foun- dation has issued a bulletin called Lincoln Lore. This bulletin contains human interest episodes in Lincoln's life and a quar- terly Lincoln bibliography. This publication is available to libraries, educational institutions, and Lincoln students. The Lincoln Kinsman — An eight-page monthly publi- cation known as The Lincoln Kinsman, deals with Lincoln family history. It is a subscription magazine and is distributed through the Lincolniana Publishers. The Lincoln Digest — This is a four-page pamphlet printed at intervals, which contains condensed information about interesting phases of Lincoln's life. These leaflets are available in quantities for distribution in schools, patriotic organizations, and public assemblies. The Bureaus Three bureaus — Research, Speakers, and In- formation — are actively engaged in directing the work of the Foundation. It is the purpose of the organization not only to gather but to disseminate Lincoln history. Research — The Foundation is ever on the alert to dis- cover new facts relating to the life and works of Lincoln, and it greatly appreciates any authentic information about his life which is not generally known. Speakers — The Director of the Foundation each year addresses about 200 groups, reaching approximately 100,000 people. Radio addresses reach additional thousands. A pamph- let, "Addresses on Abraham Lincoln," describes this service and may be secured upon request. Information — The tremendous amount of data gathered about Lincoln has caused the Foundation to become known as the center of Lincoln information in America. It invites Lin- coln inquiries. The Sponsor A Foundation with a program so ambitious, would imply the guidance of an intelligent, re- sponsible, and sympathetic sponsor. The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company wholly main- tains and administers the work of the Foundation memorial in appreciation of the use of the name of Lincoln in its official title and for the right to dis- play a portrait of Lincoln as the company insignia. This last privilege was granted by Robert Todd Lincoln, son of Abraham Lincoln, who presented for this purpose an original photograph of President Lincoln to Arthur F. Hall, founder of the company. How much the Lincoln name, the Lincoln in- signia, and the motto, "Its name indicates its character," has contributed to the phenomenal growth of the Company cannot be measured. Only seventeen of the three hundred American insurance companies have attained the goal of one billion of insurance in force, and only one of these companies has reached this objective in as short a space of time as the Lincoln National. Representatives of the Company in forty differ- ent states, the District of Columbia, the Canal Zone, the Philippine Islands, and the territory of Hawaii are interested in the progress of the Foun- dation and contribute valuable information for its files. Company offices in eighty-four important American cities act as distributing points for in- formation on Abraham Lincoln published by the Foundation. The library and museum of the Foundation, located on the fourth floor of the Home Office build- ing of The Lincoln National Life Insurance Com- pany at Fort Wayne, Indiana, may be visited from 8:00 A. M. to 4:30 P. M. each week-day except Sat- urday when the office building closes at noon. Visit- ors are always welcome. PUBLISHED BY THE LINCOLN NATIONAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY FORT WAYNE INDIANA FORM 2874 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 973.7L63E5L632 coni THE LINCOLN NATIONAL LIFE FOUNDATION FO 3 0112 031813972