An image of Edward Everett’s copy of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address currently housed in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois. Everett asked Lincoln for a copy to include in a volume he was assembling to mark the November 19, 1863 dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery (see our post on the Gettysburg Address Memorial). Everett also included in that volume his own two-hour oration, other speeches given that day, maps of Gettysburg and accounts of the day. He wanted to auction it, with the proceeds going to support health care for Civil War soldiers. As with all other images on our site, you may click the image to enlarge.
One of only five original hand-written copies of President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address will briefly return to Gettysburg. The weekend of September 26-28 is the official opening of the Gettysburg National Military Park Visitor Center, and Edward Everett’s copy of Lincoln’s speech will be on display for the weekend. It will be on loan from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois. It is the first copy of the address known to have the words “under God” in the line, “that this nation, under God, will have a new birth of freedom…”
See our post on the copy returning to Gettysburg on September 28, 2008.
The manuscript will be on display in the Gilder Lehrman Institute Special Exhibits Gallery. So if you don’t know where that is, we’ll show you. Most visitors enter the Visitor Center at the southeast entrance. This view was taken from the southeast facing northwest at approximately 9:30 AM on Saturday, August 23, 2008.
They enter the main lobby, and the restrooms are on the right. After using the restroom, go about halfway down the lobby and make a right. This view was taken from the east facing west at approximately 9:30 AM on Saturday, August 23, 2008.
A small information desk will be here which you can continue past. This view was taken from the south facing north at approximately 9:30 AM on Saturday, August 23, 2008.
You enter the gallery with the ticket takers for the movie directly ahead of you. You have two choices to go to the Gilder-Lehman Gallery. This view was taken from the south facing north at approximately 9:30 AM on Saturday, August 23, 2008.
You could make a left, and move towards the entrance to the museum. This view was taken from the southeast facing northwest at approximately 9:30 AM on Saturday, August 23, 2008.
But another way is to make a right towards the museum store. This view was taken from the southwest facing northeast at approximately 9:30 AM on Saturday, August 23, 2008.
Go past the museum store towards the lobby mostly used by bus groups. This view was taken from the south facing north at approximately 9:30 AM on Saturday, August 23, 2008.
Go through the bus lobby towards the 1904 relief map. Restrooms are on the left if you need them again. This view was taken from the southeast facing northwest at approximately 9:30 AM on Saturday, August 23, 2008.
You have now arrived at the entrance to the galleries. This is a separate area to keep the artifacts in climate-controlled environment. This view was taken from the southeast facing northwest at approximately 9:30 AM on Saturday, August 23, 2008.
You enter the hallway. The exit doors from the museum are on the right. But the entrance to the Gilder-Lehman Gallery is ahead on the left. This view was taken from the southeast facing northwest at approximately 9:30 AM on Saturday, August 23, 2008.
Here is the entrance to the Gilder-Lehman Gallery. This view was taken from the east facing west at approximately 9:30 AM on Saturday, August 23, 2008.
It is currently housing a collection of Civil War letters. No word if any of them will be briefly removed to make room for the Gettysburg Address Display. This view was taken from the northeast facing southwest at approximately 9:30 AM on Saturday, August 23, 2008.
When in Springfield, the document is constantly kept inside its own protective case, suspended in the middle of inert gas. This view was taken from the north facing south at approximately 9:30 AM on Saturday, August 23, 2008.
If you decided to make a left at the ticket takers, and go by way of the museum entrance, you have made the fastest choice. The Gilder-Lehman Gallery entrance is to the right of the museum entrance. This view was taken from the southeast facing northwest at approximately 9:30 AM on Saturday, August 23, 2008.
Here are the entrance doors. This view was taken from the south facing north at approximately 9:30 AM on Saturday, August 23, 2008.
After you go through the doors which control the climate, you will enter the hallway. A set of exit doors from the museum are on the left. These are not the same exit doors we saw if you took the other direction. This view was taken from the south facing north at approximately 9:30 AM on Saturday, August 23, 2008.
The exit doors you saw coming from the other direction are now ahead on the left, but another entrance to the Gilder-Lehman Gallery is here on the right. This view was taken from the south facing north at approximately 9:30 AM on Saturday, August 23, 2008.
Here’s the other entrance to the Gilder-Lehman Gallery. When the manuscript is stored in Springfield, not only is it in its own protective case, and suspended in the middle of inert gas, it is in an underground vault. The vault is a climate-controlled environment where there is absolutely no light, and temperature and humidity levels are constant. This view was taken from the southwest facing northeast at approximately 9:30 AM on Saturday, August 23, 2008.