Featured Program

Abraham Lincoln: Three Collectors’ Perspectives
New Exhibit at the Herbert Hoover Museum
Focuses on the Legacy of Our 16th President

West Branch, Iowa, Herbert Hoover Presidential Museum – On January 24, 2009 the Herbert Hoover Presidential Museum opens the new exhibit – Abraham Lincoln: Three Collectors’ Perspectives – this exhibit will be on display until March 22, 2009. With the celebration of the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth this year, interest in Lincoln will reach new heights.

Abraham Lincoln is considered one of the great figures in American history – and “Honest Abe” is arguably the most recognizable president of our country. One of the results of his popularity is a compelling desire for people to collect objects and artifacts that have some association with Lincoln.

The Hoover Museum exhibit – Abraham Lincoln: Three Collectors’ Perspectives – includes a select number of items owned by three Lincoln collectors whose artifacts have been acquired over the better part of the twentieth century, up to present day.

Among the collectors featured in the exhibit is the legendary James W. Bollinger, a three-time graduate of the University of Iowa, district court judge, and one of the greatest collectors of Lincoln materials from 1920 until his death in 1951.  “Everyone who knew me in later years knew that my Lincoln library was my choicest possession,” Judge Bollinger wrote at the time he gave his collection to his alma mater. “And so I have fond hopes for it to grow until it may be as complete and useful as possible.” By 1951, his collection had grown to over 3,500 items, one of the finest in the world. The Hoover exhibit will have a few of those choice items.

Another individual represented in this display was somewhat of an accidental collector – Herbert Hoover. As a Republican president, Mr. Hoover frequently spoke on the greatness of Abraham Lincoln and, in fact, rededicated Mr. Lincoln’s tomb in Springfield in 1931. Not surprisingly, Mr. Hoover accumulated a wide variety and significant number of Lincoln items, some of which will be on display.

Along with the Bollinger and Hoover items on display will be some of the artifacts collected by Blaine Houmes of Cedar Rapids. Dr. Houmes is a physician by profession and an active Lincoln collector whenever his schedule permits. He continually is seeking out new items for his collection which numbers in the thousands. We are pleased that Dr. Houmes is willing to loan some of his prized items in this unique exhibit.

Together the story of these three collectors and their unique items makes for an unusual and fascinating exhibit on the legacy of the Sixteenth President of the United States. Abraham Lincoln: Three Collectors’ Perspectives opens on January 24 and continues until March 22, 2009.

The Hoover Presidential Library is located in historic West Branch just off Interstate 80 at Exit 254. The library is open 9 am to 5 pm daily. For information, call 319-643-5301 or www.hoover.archives.gov.