Casts of Abraham Lincoln's Face and Hands

Object Details

Description: Chicago artist Leonard Volk produced this plaster life mask of Abraham Lincoln in April 1860. Volk made the casts of Lincoln’s hands on May 20, two days after the Republican Party nominated him for the presidency. Lincoln’s right hand was still swollen from shaking hands with supporters. To steady his hand in the mold, Lincoln went out to the woodshed and cut off a piece of broom handle. Volk later placed the piece of handle in the cast displayed here.; In 1886 Volk’s son sold the casts of Lincoln’s face and hands to a group that proposed having the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens make a limited set of replicas.; In 1888 the 33 supporters of this project presented Volk’s personal copies of the life mask and hands, along with bronze replicas produced by Saint-Gaudens, to the U.S. government for preservation. The donation was made on the condition that “the original plaster casts should never be tampered with.” Any future casts could only be made from the bronze replicas.; Gift of the Thirty-three Subscribers, 1888
Location: Currently not on view

1860

Physical Description: plaster (overall material)
Measurements: mask: 7 in x 8 1/2 in x 9 in; 17.78 cm x 21.59 cm x 22.86 cm; right hand: 3 5/8 in x 5 1/4 in x 6 1/8 in; 9.1948 cm x 13.335 cm x 15.5956 cm; left hand: 2 3/4 in x 4 1/4 in x 6 5/8 in; 6.985 cm x 10.795 cm x 16.8148 cm

Related Publication: Rubenstein, Harry R.. Abraham Lincoln: An Extraordinary Life

See more items in: Political History: Political History, Presidential History Collection; Government, Politics, and Reform; Selections from the Abraham Lincoln Collection

National Museum of American History

GUID (Link to Original Record): https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ac-cb85-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa