Happy Birthday Abraham Lincoln!

Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States, was one of the nation's greatest success stories. Born in Hardin County, Kentucky, his family moved frequently forcing Lincoln to gain what education he could along the way. While reading law, he worked in a store, managed a mill, surveyed and split rails. As a result of his passion for hard work, Lincoln developed great ability in law, a ready grasp of argument, and sincerity, color, and lucidity of speech evident during his long and distinguished career in public life.


In honor of his birthday, February 12, 1809, we celebrate one of the most famous men (and let's face it, our favorite man) to wear a top hat, with a selection of books, from Cosimo, all about the life and history of Lincoln.

Here you'll find Lincoln's famous Gettysburg Address, both inaugural addresses, the Emancipation Proclamation, a selection of correspondence, his last public speech, and other notable papers. Also included are: an 1891 essay by Carl Schurz, a prominent and trusted member of the Lincoln administration, a stirring and emotional 1864 defense of Lincoln's prosecution of the Civil War by his friend, poet James Russell Lowell, Ralph Waldo Emerson's eulogy of Lincoln, and poetry in honor of the fallen president by Lowell, John Greenleaf Whittier, Oliver Wendall Holmes, and Walt Whitman. Written by those who knew him, loved him, and witnessed his dramatic impact on United States during its most perilous crisis, this collection offers us the invaluable perspective of his contemporaries and the beginnings of the towering image we have of Abraham Lincoln today. 

Abraham Lincoln by Lord Charnwood from 1917 is a rich, evocative portrait of the man and how actions as a leader were shaped by his character and ideals. From its British perspective, offering a fresh angle on an American legend, to its charming readability, Charnwood's treatise- which was called, in 1947, "the best one-volume life of Lincoln ever written" by historian Benjamin Thomas - today remains one of the most intriguing examinations of the great president, and a keystone for understanding the evolution of Lincoln scholarship. 

Ingersoll published this lecture in 1894, a stirring tribute to the honesty, courage, and genius of a beloved leader at a time when his life and works were still within living memory. Focusing in particular on Lincoln's abhorrence of slavery and his work to defeat it as a national institution, Ingersoll offers readers today an invaluable perspective on the great President from the era immediately after his own, when his legend was being cemented in the American imagination.

The Lincoln Year Book containing the immortal words of Abraham Lincoln spoken and written on various occasions throughout his extraordinary life, The Lincoln Year Book is a timeless collection of proverbs and dictum from "The Great Emancipator" of American history. Each entry is preceded by appropriate Scripture texts and followed by first-rate poetic selections and charming illustrations for each day in the year, including particular reference to anniversary dates.

Considered one of the best treatments of the presidency of Abraham Lincoln of its time, this 10-volume portrait of the man and his administration of the United States at the moment of its greatest upheaval is both intimate and scholarly. Written by two private secretaries to the president and first published in 1890, this astonishingly in-depth work is still praised today for its clear, easy-to-read style and vitality. This new replica edition features all the original illustrations.

Happy Birthday Abraham Lincoln!