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!

The Gettysburg Address: 150 Years Later

"But the long story is that no single American utterance has had the staying power, or commanded the respect and reverence, accorded the Gettysburg Address. It has been engraved...translated...and analyzed in at least nine book-length critical studies over the last century." -- Allen C. Guelzo, "Lincoln's Sound Bite: Have Faith in Democracy"

We've been so busy we almost missed this important anniversary: the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address! At only 272 words, it's a rather short speech for a President, yet the Gettysburg Address remains one of the most well-known speeches in American Presidential history.

"Four score and seven years ago..." is an introduction we all know, yet how many Americans know the details that surround this speech? For example, that Lincoln's speech was not the only one given that day, as Edward Everett gave a much longer oration as well? It's a testament to Lincoln's powers as an orator and writer that school children do not learn word one of the two-hour speech Everett delivered.

In honor of this anniversary we provide some links to interesting and fun articles about the address:

• "Lincoln's Sound Bite: Have Faith in Democracy," by Allen C. Guelzo. Here the author examines the reasons behind the Address' staying power in American history, detailing why it was--and is--considered a "landmark" speech.
• This famous speech went through multiple drafts: you can compare the text of five known copies (including the most-often replicated 'Bliss Copy') here.
• To commemorate the anniversary, special events were held on the fields of Gettysburg, including a reading of the Address by a Lincoln impersonator. Check out the video below for a vignette about what it's like being a Lincoln impersonator!

To learn more about the Gettysburg Address and other significant Lincoln works, check out Abraham Lincoln: The Gettysburg Speech and Other Papers, our Series of the Month Abraham Lincoln: A History (in hardcover or paperback), or The Lincoln Year Book: Axioms and Aphorisms From the Great Emancipator, by Wallace Rice (paperback).