Object Details
- Lincoln, Abraham
- Description
- Lincoln used this iron wedge to split wood while living in New Salem, Illinois in the early 1830s.
- In 1885 workers found this wedge during renovations to a house that once belonged to Mentor Graham in New Salem, Illinois. Graham was a friend of Abraham Lincoln’s, and Lincoln gave him the wedge as a token of friendship when he left New Salem to begin his career as a lawyer in Springfield, Illinois.
- The initials “A L” appear on one side of the wedge. John Spears, a neighbor, recalled the day Lincoln went to a blacksmith and asked to have his initials cut into the wedge. The blacksmith hesitated, claiming he was “no scholar.” Lincoln borrowed the tools and marked the wedge himself.
- Gift of Henry W. Allen, 1920
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Credit Line
- Gift of Henry W. Allen (SI)
- ID Number
- PL.030794
- catalog number
- 30794
- accession number
- 65826
- Object Name
- wedge
- Physical Description
- iron (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 1 1/2 in x 8 3/4 in x 2 in; 3.81 cm x 22.225 cm x 5.08 cm
- associated place
- United States: Illinois
- Related Publication
- Rubenstein, Harry R.. Abraham Lincoln: An Extraordinary Life
- See more items in
- Political History: Political History, General History Collection
- Government, Politics, and Reform
- Selections from the Abraham Lincoln Collection
- National Museum of American History
- used
- Presidents
- Record ID
- nmah_513431
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a3-30e5-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
