Selected Special Collections

Alfred Whital Stern Collection of Lincolniana

Publications, manuscripts, prints and other materials relating to Abraham Lincoln.

Alfred Whital Stern (1881-1960) of Chicago presented his outstanding collection of Lincolniana to the Library in 1953. Begun by Mr. Stern in the 1920s, the collection documents the life of Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) through writings by and about Lincoln, contemporary newspapers, sheet music, broadsides, prints, stamps, coins, autograph letters, and a large body of publications concerned with slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and related topics. The collection includes copies of three speeches delivered by Lincoln during his term as congressman from Illinois (1947-49), Lincoln's own scrapbook of the 1858 political campaign against Stephen A. Douglas, a rare copy of the first edition of the Lincoln-Douglas debates that was printed from his scrapbook (Columbus, 1860), numerous campaign biographies prepared for the 1860 presidential election, printed materials relating to the assassination and funeral, and a Lincoln life mask in bronze by Leonard Volk. Probably the single most famous Lincoln manuscript in the collection is the letter to Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker dated January 26, 1863, placing him in command of the Army of the Potomac. Since Mr. Stern's death, the collection has continued to grow through the provisions of an endowment established by his family and it now numbers over 11,100 pieces.

Digitized Material Available from the Alfred Whital Stern Collection

	The Alfred Whital Stern Collection of Lincolniana
	Bates, David Homer. Diary and Daily Journal, 1863-1865. Daily Journal Page Turner - Daily Journal PDF (59 MB) Text of Journal - Bibliographic Information Also see: David Homer Bates Papers [View Finding aid] [PDF : 55KB / 8 pages]

Bates, David Homer. Finding aid, and contents of box 1 Letters Page Turner - Letters PDF (64 MB) Also see: David Homer Bates Papers [View Finding aid] [PDF : 55KB / 8 pages]

Supporting Resources

• Related collection in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division: Confederate States of America Collection: Publications issued in the South during the Civil War
• Audio: Sounds from the Library of Congress. 1988-02-12, Lincoln Collections [sound recording].
• Video:
  • What Was in Lincoln's Pockets?
  • Watch a President Age: Abraham Lincoln
  • The Book Lincoln and Obama Have in Common
  • How a President Learned to Write: Abraham Lincoln
  • The Most Wanted Man in America: John Wilkes Booth
  • The Union Sends a Message
• Blog Posts
  • I am Anne Rutledge
  • Mary's Treasures
• Bibliography: Goff's description of the Alfred Whital Stern Collection of Lincolniana in the Library of Congress' Quarterly Journal, Vol 19, No 3, June 1962.