Exhibits
The Department of Special Collections regularly presents thematic exhibits of materials from its holdings in the Special Collections Exhibit Room, 102 Hesburgh Library, and on our Web site. Please follow the links in the menu below for more information about our exhibits and exhibition schedule.
Currently on Display
| Online Exhibits |
Currently on Display
Abraham Lincoln at Notre Dame
Among the holdings in the Hesburgh Libraries’ Department of Rare Books and Special Collections is a small but significant body of nineteenth century materials relating to Abraham Lincoln. There are, for example, several signed documents dating from Lincoln’s years in the White House; groups of printed items from the presidential campaign of 1860, and from the months following Lincoln’s assassination in 1865; important editions of early biographies, including those by Isaac Arnold, William Herndon, and Nicolay and Hay; and the working manuscript of a lecture on Lincoln by the Irish writer Bram Stoker.
August 28 to December 21, 2009 102 Hesburgh Library, Open to the public |
Many of the items in this exhibit came to the Libraries in 1967, as gifts of Walter J. Trohan (ND ‘26). Walter Trohan is best remembered as a political journalist, whose work at the Chicago Tribune culminated in a long tenure as the paper’s Washington bureau chief (1949-1969). But he was also a book collector of note; some 500 of his first and fine editions (mostly in the areas of British and American literature, and, of course, Lincoln) now grace the rare books holdings in Special Collections. Trohan’s first bequest of books was in 1957; he continued to present items from his collection, on an annual basis, for many years. In this, the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth, we take the opportunity to present a body of materials that were a particular passion of one of Special Collections’ most important benefactors.
The Libraries also wish to thank University Archives, who for the purposes of this exhibit graciously lent two Lincoln manuscripts from their collections.
This exhibit is curated by George Rugg, Curator for Special Collections.
Inquiries regarding this exhibit or about scheduling a guided class or group tour of the exhibition should be directed to Special Collections, at (574) 631-0290.
For information on other exhibits currently on display in the University Libraries, please refer to the Libraries exhibits page.
