Beginning January 10, visitors to the Indiana State Museum will get a close look at two landmark documents in American history.
A copy of the 13th Amendment, ending legal slavery in the U.S. and the Emancipation Proclamation, proclaiming the freedom of slaves in Confederate held territory, both signed by Abraham Lincoln, will be on exhibition at the museum through Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on January 19.
The documents are part of the Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection at the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites and have recently been conserved to ensure their preservation for future generations.
“We are very fortunate to be the steward of two of America’s most treasured documents. This January marks the 150th anniversary of the 13th Amendment’s passage by Congress,” said Susannah Koerber, senior vice president of collections and interpretation. “We are excited to have these documents on view in commemoration of the passage and during the nation’s birthday observance of Martin Luther King Jr. It is not often that we display either of these historic documents due to their fragility and the damage light exposure causes to them.”
In addition to exhibiting the documents, the museum will host a lecture and discussion at 2 p.m. on January 17 featuring Morgan Zinsmeister, a conservator in private practice in Washington DC. He also serves as senior conservator at the National Archives. He will share his experience conserving both the Emancipation Proclamation and 13th Amendment.
“We are thrilled to have Morgan come to Indianapolis to talk about the importance and challenge of preserving rare documents so essential to the history of our nation,” Koerber added.
The documents are considered extremely rare. Only three copies of the Senate version of the 13th Amendment, signed by Lincoln before its ratification by the states, survive. Forty-eight copies of what is known as the Leland-Boker edition of the Emancipation Proclamation were printed and signed by Lincoln as a benefit for the U.S. Sanitary Commission, a precursor to the Red Cross. Today, 25 extant copies are known.
The exhibition and conversation are included in regular museum admission. To learn more about the exhibition and the lecture on the Emancipation Proclamation and 13th Amendment preservation, please visit www.indianamuseum.org or call (317) 232.1637.
