The amazing uneducated/self-educated Abraham Lincoln!

[Gene C]

(03-14-2013 08:44 AM)Laurie Verge Wrote:  Note to Gene: You get an A in comma control. You even got your apostrophes correct. I'm so proud - another example of a learning experience from participating in this forum...

Thanks Laurie, In school, grammer was not one of my gooder subjects

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(03-14-2013 07:23 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  Nowadays, I own about 400 Lincoln-related books; about 70 of these are about the assassination.

Don't let Roger fool you. That 400 is the number he managed to cram into the downstairs half bath. The government wanted to know the extent of his collection so they secretly sent in tiny mechanical bug and dragonfly drones to photograph. This collection of secret photo's takes up an entire web site they have cleverly disguised to mislead the public, but they are all photo's of Rogers vast collection, nothing else.

http://bookshelfporn.com/

And I thought the bat cave was cool. There is more, but these drones fell victim to a cat and a Dyson vacuum cleaner.

[LincolnMan]

Gene, I started to worry a bit when I saw the link "bookshelf porn!"

[RJNorton]

Our daughter will eventually inherit this. This is one of our full baths. Occasionally we let the neighbors in to take whatever they want.

[LincolnMan]

Looks like a scene from "Hoarders-Buried Alive."

[Tom Emery]

I'm not sure if I can top that photo from Roger -- that's a hard one to follow -- but here goes.

In a previous research project, I extensively studied the history of the Illinois State Library in Springfield (not to be confused with the Illinois State Historical Library, now the Lincoln Presidential Library). There's a Lincoln connection to the Illinois State Library, but it's not what you might expect, and, I think, shows some interesting insights into Lincoln.

Lincoln was actually the first person to check a book out of the State Library, on Dec. 16, 1842. Since library usage was restricted only to state officials and legislators, Lincoln actually signed the book out in his law partner's name, S.T. Logan.

But that was one of only two books Lincoln borrowed from the State Library. The other did not come until 1860, when he borrowed Edwin Williams' Statesman's Manual a week after his election, likely to research his First Inaugural.

To be sure, Lincoln spent plenty of time in the State Library, reading newspapers and enjoying his political connections and friends. But I find it interesting that he only borrowed two books, particulary with the perception of Lincoln's love of reading.

It is also worthy of note that, when the State Library was established by the legislature in 1839, Lincoln did not vote on the act.

I don't think there is any question that Lincoln was an avid reader. However, my research indicates that people of the time had more affinity for books that may be perceived. There is little doubt that literacy rates were low, and books were expensive. Still, there was a clear demand, and books were well sought-after by many of the era.

Books were sold in general stores, by catalogs, etc., and even though tax-supported public libraries were not established in Illinois until 1872 (Gov. John M. Palmer, who I described in another thread, signed that act), there were subscription libraries, private libraries, etc. in increasing numbers. There is ample reason to believe that reading was in demand in the frontier of the mid-1800s.

I simply find it interesting that Lincoln borrowed only two books from the library, when he had ample opporunity to do so, and had plenty of political connections. He certainly could -- and did -- read books at the library, but I didn't find a lot of evidence that he did this to a great extent.

On another note, Lincoln met John Nicolay, then a clerk for Illinois Secretary of State Ozias Hatch, in the Illinois State Library. In a 1917 letter, Robert Todd Lincoln (who borrowed 27 books from the library, usually signed out in someone else's name) remembered his father's time in the library, which was a center for political gossip and bonding as much as a reading sancturary (and Lincoln certainly loved any talk of politics). Lincoln also researched the Cooper Union speech in the library.

The Illinois State Library was in the Old State Capitol in Springfield and has been reconstructed to appear as it did in that era, although there are some structural differences.

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I think I may have double-hit the italics key, which caused part of this to be italicized. Sorry about that one.

[RJNorton]

Fascinating post, Tom. Thank you. I think I'll mention something I read once but cannot recall the source. I read that despite Lincoln's reputation as a reader, he rarely, if ever, read a book cover to cover. He would read bits and parts, sometimes the same parts over and over, but not the whole book. I think one of his friends said that, but I cannot recall where I got it or how true it is. I am curious if anyone else has ever read anything like what I just mentioned.

[Tom Emery]

I appreciate the comments, Roger.

As a follow-up, the Illinois State Library has had five locations. The Old State Capitol was the first; the current location is across the street, to the east, from the current Illinois Statehouse.

Also, the public library of Springfield, which was established well after Lincoln's death, is called Lincoln Library. It is not to be confused with the Presidential Library or other entities.

Lincoln Library is located just north of the Lincoln Home National Historic Site. I've spent many hours there, and love the place. The edge of the Lincoln home neighborhood is just across the street, to the south.

[LincolnMan]

Could it be that Lincoln had books & newspapers & and other reading materials readily available to him-thus causing no particular need to take out library books?

[Liz Rosenthal]

How can we be sure that, every time someone took a book out of the Illinois State Library, the book was officially "signed out"? I'm very skeptical of the notion that Lincoln only availed himself of books from the library on two occasions. He certainly could have read books in the library, and given his proximity to the capitol, and his stature in law and Illinois politics, I wouldn't be surprised if he was able to "borrow" books on an honor system - that is, without signing them out.

Billy Herndon kept a rather substantial library, and there is no question that Lincoln perused it often. Both Herndon and Lincoln subscribed to various newspapers and journals, from what I can recall, and Lincoln was apparently especially well-read on all political news, from all political persuasions (surprise!).

I think Billy H. was the primary source for the idea that Lincoln only read parts of books. Billy may have been correct about that, or he may not actually have been aware of all that Lincoln read. It wouldn't have been the first time that Billy made questionable leaps of judgment about Lincoln's character and conduct. But Billy would often recommend to Lincoln a book that he had just read, which may have prompted Lincoln to take a look at the book in Billy's presence, read parts of it and then, unimpressed, return it to the bookshelf.

Lincoln did not always have the same reading preferences as Billy; and it seemed that he preferred to have Billy give him an oral synopsis of the book's contents, which may have helped him decide whether to read it or not. It also might have been a way for Lincoln to keep abreast of things when he didn't have time to read everything he might have liked to. One thing is for sure - Lincoln seemed to take a dim view of biographies of famous historical figures. Billy might urge him to read a book about such-and-such great man, and Lincoln would take a quick look at it and confirm his suspicion that it was basically meaningless hagiography. Lincoln remarked at least once that, with a lot of those biographies, they were essentially the same, with the exception of names, dates and places.

It's certainly true that Lincoln loved to go back to certain poetry, Shakespeare, the Bible, and other writings again and again. On the other hand, he'd memorized so much of it that he often didn't have to refresh his memory by returning to these writings.

One thing is certain - that Lincoln read to improve his mind, to acquire knowledge in areas that he believed he was deficient in that he shouldn't be deficient in and could do something about, and to gain relief from stress, especially when he was President.

[Tom Emery]

Liz, as I said in my post, I am sure that he read books in the library; the fact that he researched the Cooper Union speech is evidence of that. Nicolay notes that he read newspapers there.

But I studied the history of the ISL for two years as part of a Library Services and Technology Act grant, and will have a 220+ page coffeetable sytle book with 1000+ footnotes and 130+ illustrations coming out in the next few months.

I have no reason to believe that he borrowed books "on the honor system." If you're implying that my research is faulty, I don't appreciate that. I examined all available records, previous writings and analysis, and talked to a number of people with knowledge of the subject.

Library regulations were very stringent in the 1840s and 1850s. While books were "borrowed" freely from the legislative libraries that were the forerunner of the ISL, I found no evidence to believe that Lincoln did that himself.

A 1966 article in Lincoln Herald outlines his ISL usage, in particular Robert's usage.

[Liz Rosenthal]

Tom:

I meant no disrespect, nor did I mean to cast aspersions on your research. Please accept my apology if it sounded like I was questioning the accuracy of your research.

I was just asking whether it was possible that Lincoln might have taken books out without "signing them out." You've answered my question. Thank you.

(03-18-2013 01:58 PM)Tom Emery Wrote:  Liz, as I said in my post, I am sure that he read books in the library; the fact that he researched the Cooper Union speech is evidence of that. Nicolay notes that he read newspapers there.

But I studied the history of the ISL for two years as part of a Library Services and Technology Act grant, and will have a 220+ page coffeetable sytle book with 1000+ footnotes and 130+ illustrations coming out in the next few months.

I have no reason to believe that he borrowed books "on the honor system." If you're implying that my research is faulty, I don't appreciate that. I examined all available records, previous writings and analysis, and talked to a number of people with knowledge of the subject.

Library regulations were very stringent in the 1840s and 1850s. While books were "borrowed" freely from the legislative libraries that were the forerunner of the ISL, I found no evidence to believe that Lincoln did that himself.

A 1966 article in Lincoln Herald outlines his ISL usage, in particular Robert's usage.

[Tom Emery]

Liz:

I appreciate your comments, and I probably misinterpreted what you were saying, to begin with.

I'm just proud of this project -- I learned earlier today that it's in printing, which was a long time coming -- and I freely admit I can get a little oversensitive in any regard.

Thanks for your reply.

Tom

[Gene C]

What is the book about?
That's a lot of footnotes. Please share with us what is special (unique) about your book.

[LincolnMan]

And to think that Lincoln is the only U.S. President to date to have a registered patent!

[Eva Elisabeth]

(03-15-2013 12:09 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  Fascinating post, Tom. Thank you. I think I'll mention something I read once but cannot recall the source. I read that despite Lincoln's reputation as a reader, he rarely, if ever, read a book cover to cover. He would read bits and parts, sometimes the same parts over and over, but not the whole book. I think one of his friends said that, but I cannot recall where I got it or how true it is. I am curious if anyone else has ever read anything like what I just mentioned.

Maybe it's out of date to comment on this, also Liz already gave an answer, but perhaps you mean this quote by Herndon (see "Herndon's Life of A.L., p.258):

"Beyond a limited acquaintance with Shakespeare, Byron and Burns, Mr. Lincoln, comparatively speaking, had no knowledge of literature. He was familiar with the bible, and now and then evidenced a fancy for some poem or short sketch to which his attention was called by someone else, or which he happened to run accross in his cursory reading of books or newspapers. He never in his life sat down and read a book through, and yet he could readily quote any numbers of passages from the few volumes whose pages he had hastily scanned."