By Erin Carlson Mast

A member of the construction management company that oversaw preservation and restoration of the Cottage interior and rehabilitation of the Visitor Education Center recently forwarded us a photo he snapped in the Cottage in March 2007.

This view shows workers removing loose paint in the entry hallway.  In the foreground is the library before 23 layers of paint were removed from the entire ceiling, walls, and doors. A coupon was left to preserve some of the paint in place and reports thoroughly document the paint and finish analysis. Also visible in the photo are the protective floor coverings. These covers protected the 19th century wood flooring from damage during restoration work, after asbestos abatement and prior to refinishing.  

This photo shows workers carefully removing asbestos from inside a ventilated tent in 2006.  Asbestos-laden mastic that was found beneath the 20th century carpet when it was removed in 2006, so abatement was the first work to be done in the next phase of restoration work in the Cottage.  Asbestos abatement is both time-consuming and costly work, not to mention the extreme staining on the wood floors left by the mastic.  However costly and time-consuming, asbestos removal was a necessary and important step toward opening President Lincoln’s Cottage to the public. 

Several, processes were tested to remove mastic stains from the floors in the Cottage while minimizing impact on the wood.  The discolorations were largely removed during refinishing and re-staining, as can be seen in the photo below, from the Grand Opening this past February.

Ms. Mast is Curator at President Lincoln’s Cottage.

By Erin Carlson Mast

Today is your last chance to see the inaugural special exhibit, In Pursuit of Emancipation: Documenting Lincoln’s Decision to Proclaim Freedom, at President Lincoln’s Cottage.  The exhibit closes its doors today at 5:30pm after a 3 month run. The exhibit was featured in pre-opening events and was opened to the public as part of the Grand Opening Ceremony on February 18th.

This exhibition features over a dozen manuscripts and artifacts on loan from The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, The Massachusetts Historical Society, and The National Museum of American History Smithsonian Institution.  Highlights include the pen Lincoln used to sign the Proclamation, a rare autographed copy of the Emancipation Proclamation, and one of 13 souvenir copies of the 13th Amendment, signed by Lincoln.

Notable visitors to the exhibit include the First Lady of South Korea, and Congressman Roy Blunt, the House Whip.

For information on how to visit, please see our website: www.lincolncottage.org

Ms. Erin Mast is Curator at President Lincoln’s Cottage.

By Erin Carlson Mast

President Lincoln’s Cottage won a Silver MUSE Award yesterday evening for its “Lincoln’s Toughest Decisions” interactive.   The award, given annually at the American Association of Museums (AAM) conference, recognizes outstanding achievement in museum media.

 ”Lincoln’s Toughest Decisions,” is an innovative interpretive program which puts visitors in the role of President Lincoln’s cabinet members.  The program can be run for groups or used by individual visitors and is located in the Robert H. Smith Visitor Education Center adjacent to the Cottage.

Here is an excerpt of what the judges said about “Lincoln’s Toughest Decisions”:

This innovative interactive experience cleverly mixes human interaction within a group with individually-directed experiences that put visitors in the role of members of President Lincoln’s cabinet. Aimed predominantly at school groups, the judges were most impressed with the way the program underscores the importance of primary source documents for students.  Visitors use letters, documents and archival materials to help them decide how they, as a member of Lincoln’s Cabinet, should advise Lincoln during discussions about critical issues like the Emancipation Proclamation.  This installation is a commendable example of technology that is not for technology’s sake, but is instead used as an effective tool for encouraging personal experiences with history.  

The judges’ full remarks and a complete description of the program are available on the MUSE Award website: http://www.mediaandtechnology.org/muse/2008_interpretinstall.html 

For information about bringing your school or group to experience Lincoln’s Toughest Decisions, please visit the Schools & Groups page of our website: http://www.lincolncottage.org/schoolsandgroups/index.htm

Ms. Mast is Curator at President Lincoln’s Cottage. 

By Erin Carlson Mast

Yesterday, Senator Clinton challenged Senator Obama to a ”Lincoln-Douglas style debate,” where the candidates ask each other questions rather than having a moderator pose questions to each candidate.  Although the Lincoln-Douglas debates were reprinted during the presidential campaign of 1860, the debates originally took place in 1858 during Illinois race for the United States Senate.  At that time, Lincoln was a relative newcomer, Douglas had more experience, and it was Douglas who ultimately won the seat in the Senate. 

The debates were, however, the collective event that launched Lincoln onto the national stage.   The question of extending slavery into territories was a key issue in the senate race, with Lincoln on the side of non-extension and Douglas essentially arguing for people in the territories to be allowed to vote and make the decision themselves.   The content of the debates can be offensive to the 21st century reader, but it is important to remember the context of the debates–a heated race for the Illinois senate seat in a time when slavery was legally practiced in much of the country–and the crowd in front of the debaters.  And while the transcripts of the debates were published and disseminated after the Lincoln-Douglas debates, the audience was more regional. 

It will be interesting to see if the Clinton-Obama debates in the style of Lincoln and Douglas occur and which key issues will emerge dominant if the two ask their own questions of one another, and how they address both concerns of the local audience, but the national and international audience members that tune in.

Transcripts of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858 are available through the National Park Service: http://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/debates.htm  or through Google Books, which offers a digitized version of the debates and supplementary materials including press commentary, published in 1860 by Lincoln’s supporters.

Ms. Mast is the Curator for President Lincoln’s Cottage

If you’re hoping to visit President Lincoln’s Cottage on particular date–perhaps the day the Lincolns first moved out to the Soldiers’ Home in 1862, or the day President Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation the following September while still living at the Home, or if you’re interested in context for other events, or if you’re just curious about what Lincoln was doing on any given day, look to Lincoln Day-by-Day: A Chronology.

According to the website, which recently received a face lift, the information was originally developed by the Lincoln Sesquicentennial Commission with assistance from the Abraham Lincoln Association and published in 1960.  It continues to be updated by the Papers of Abraham Lincoln project, and serves as a handy reference with excellent citations for additional research.

By Erin Carlson Mast

This afternoon Newsweek sponsored an event at President Lincoln’s Cottage for White House Correspondents in town for the annual White House Correspondents Association dinner, held tomorrow, April 26, 2008. 

The press group toured the Cottage, met with staff, and retired to the “Lincoln’s Toughest Decisions’ gallery where Evan Thomas, Newsweek Editor at Large and Presidential Historian, discussed presidential leadership, from Washington to Lincoln and up to the present, followed by his take on the leadership traits of the three leading candidates in the 2008 presidential campaign.

Lincoln’s leadership is one of the main topics discussed in exhibits and the tour at President Lincoln’s Cottage.  Here Lincoln made many decisions about the war and emancipation, and used the site as a place to meet with both allies and adversaries about his campaign for reelection in 1864, a campaign that looked doomed in August of 1864.

Ms. Erin Mast is Curator at President Lincoln’s Cottage.

By Erin Carlson Mast

Just as there are countless scholarly books and articles about President Lincoln, there are numerous parodies involving the 16th President.  One of the classic (and G-rated) spoofs staring “Lincoln” is Bob Newhart’s Abe Lincoln vs. Madison Avenue, recorded in 1960, which begins with the question, “What would politics have been like during the Civil War if it involved the public relations and advertising machines of today?  The 7 minute long performance (listen to the first minute or two if nothing else) is set on the eve of the Gettysburg Address, as Lincoln and his PR consultant discuss everything from his image to how to respond to Grant’s drinking.

Of course the election of 1860 had its own version of a campaign machine, Lincoln his advisers, and there were plenty of comments about Lincoln’s appearance during and after the election.  Still, it’s fun to hear Newhart’s ”What if?” which grafts the PR culture of 1960 to people and events 100 years earlier.  

Ms. Erin Mast is Curator at President Lincoln’s Cottage.

By George Rogers

Kim Yun-ok, wife of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak visited President Lincoln’s Cottage today. Director Frank Milligan led the First Lady on a tour of the Cottage, ending with a photo opportunity on the veranda overlooking the south lawn. After touring the Cottage, Curator Erin Mast led the First Lady and her guests through the special exhibit, “In Pursuit of Emancipation” to show them a rare, signed copy of the Emancipation Proclamation, one of 13 copies of the 13th Amendment, and the pen Lincoln used to sign the Proclamation.

The Korean President and his wife are in Washington DC as part of a four-day official visit to the United States. After touring President Lincoln’s this afternoon, Cottage Kim Yun-ok will accompany her husband to Camp David this evening.

Mr. Rogers is Director of Development at President Lincoln’s Cottage.

President Lincoln’s Cottage has amended its policy on photography as follows:

Flash photography, videocameras, and tripods are prohibited in both the Cottage and Visitor Education Center. If the flash on your hand-held camera is disabled, you may take photos for personal use in the Visitor Education Center permanent galleries.

All photography is prohibited inside President Lincoln’s Cottage and the Special Exhibit Gallery.

Professional photography and photography for publication requires advance written permission from the Curator and is subject to fees.

As a reminder, landscape photographs are only permitted within the immediate vicinity of the Cottage and Visitor Education Center (approximately 15 feet away from each building), which is the area stewarded by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. To wander outside of this area, even for a quick photo, is to trespass on AFRH property and invade the privacy of the 1200 residents who call this campus home. Thanks for helping us be a good neighbor!