Lincoln’s life pieces from his pre-presidential days

[David Lockmiller]

New York Times reported today (July 23, 2025):

Robert and Carolyn Turner are history buffs who have been amassing Abraham Lincoln memorabilia for years. They own items from throughout Lincoln’s life but have a particular fondness for pieces from his pre-presidential days. When they bought a home in Savannah, Ga., they asked Linn Gresham, senior designer at Leah Bailey Interiors, to curate a display in their new library. The theme would be Lincoln’s life before his inauguration.

The Turners say they have “the largest ‘unbearded’ Lincoln collection in the world,” said Ms. Gresham, who explained that Lincoln grew a beard when he became president.

The couple commissioned Harold Holzer to write about their holdings.

“What makes the collection so special is not its bulk but its breadth,” Mr. Holzer, the director of the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College, wrote in an email. “It covers Lincoln’s life as a lawyer, politician, family man, and emerging icon, with photography, manuscript material, rare books Lincoln once owned, paintings, and sculpture that testify to Lincoln’s rapid progress toward national prominence and the White House.”

A glass-fronted secretary desk holds items including Lincoln’s marriage certificate and a portrait of Lincoln with his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln.

To protect and illuminate the collection, Ms. Gresham chose automatic solar shades for sun protection and a mix of gallery-grade recessed and LED lighting.

I was unable to copy photographs of display room. For those that are able to do so, viewing the two photographs is worth the effort.