I found this very interesting piece about a man named Alfred Whital Stern (pictured at left), a clothing manufacturer who built one of the finest Lincolnia collections in private hands. In 1950 he donated the entire collection to the Library of Congress. According to the article, the collection is "comprised of more than 11,000 manuscripts, broadsides, portraits, political cartoons, newspapers, medals, artifacts, autographs and sheet music, and occupying its own room in the Washington library, the gift is known as the Alfred Whital Stern Collection of Lincolniana." And my wife complains that I have too many books....
Among its highlights is a letter written by Lincoln to Gen. Joseph Hooker in 1863 offering him the command of the Army of the Potomac. According to Evans, the letter purchased by Stern in 1941 for $15,000 “is universally regarded to be among Lincoln’s greatest compositions.”
Check out the full article here.
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