PAST EXHIBIT: Rare, Original Copy of the Emancipation Proclamation on Display at the Cottage through April 2013

President Lincoln’s Cottage will be the first public venue to display a rare, signed copy of the Emancipation Proclamation recently purchased by David M. Rubenstein. The historic document will be displayed in the Robert H. Smith Visitor Education Center at President Lincoln’s Cottage from September 22nd, 2012, the date Lincoln issued the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, through the end of April 2013.

“Lincoln Cottage was where much of the Emancipation Proclamation was drafted and reflected upon by President Lincoln, and it thus now seems among the most fitting places for this historic document to be displayed to the public. I am pleased and honored to help make this possible,” Rubenstein said.

“We are extremely grateful to David M. Rubenstein for lending us the Emancipation Proclamation for the 150th anniversary of Lincoln first issuing it to the public.” said Erin Carlson Mast, Director of President Lincoln’s Cottage. “The Emancipation Proclamation is one of the foremost symbols of freedom in our nation’s history. By viewing this rare copy of the proclamation at the very site where Lincoln thought through these nation-changing ideas, visitors will be able to gain a deeper understanding of the global and cultural importance of what took place at President Lincoln’s Cottage.”

President Lincoln developed the Emancipation Proclamation while living at the Cottage in the summer of 1862, making it the authentic place for understanding Lincoln’s ideas on slavery and emancipation.  President Lincoln’s Cottage, the “cradle of the Emancipation Proclamation,” is offering programs, special tours, and events in partnership with national organizations to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.

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