The 21st Show

Abraham Lincoln in 100 objects

Produced by Brian Mackey
 
a collage of objects including a black leather folio with the name Abraham Lincoln stamped on it in gold, a yellowed bust of Lincoln, a wooden-handled axe, a large wooden desk with 40 pigeon-holes and 12 vertical slots for storing letters and papers; tools including a hammer, chisel, pliers, and a lantern; and an apron with a blue bust decorated with white stars, and red-and-white stripes around the skirt

Among the 100 objects featured in the book and exhibit are (clockwise from top left): a briefcase used by Lincoln, a bust of Lincoln, an axe used by Lincoln a week before his death, the desk on which Lincoln write his first inaugural address, tools used during an (unsuccessful) attempt to steal Lincoln's body, and a patriotic apron worn at Lincoln and Douglas campaign events in 1858. Objects photographed by Maxwell Johnson for Rizzoli and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum

Listen
Download

A new book and exhibit at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum aims to tell the story of our 16th president through objects and documents from his life. Co-written by the ALPLM's chief of acquisitions Ian Hunt and museum director Christina Shutt, the book is called Lincoln: A Life and Legacy that Defined a Nation in 100 Objects (Rizzoli New York, $50).

The related exhibition of some of the objects from the book also marks both the museum's 20th anniversary and the upcoming 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. It's called Lincoln: A Life and Legacy that Defined a Nation and it's open through April 26, 2026.

Guests

Christina Shutt
Executive Director, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
Co-author, Lincoln: The Life and Legacy that Defined a Nation in 100 Objects

Ian Patrick Hunt
Chief of Acquisitions, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
Co-author, Lincoln: The Life and Legacy that Defined a Nation in 100 Objects