Origins of the Collection

The Abraham Lincoln Collection, bequeathed in 1938 to the Wilmington Institute Free Library by Club member Frank G. Tallman was, at the time, one of the finest private collections of Lincolniana in the country. The Tallman gift formed the core of the Lincoln Collection, but Club member J. Stuart Groves and many other collectors also donated material, and other supporters contributed funds to enable purchases.

Among the best-known items in the collection are a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation signed by President Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward, a copy of the Thirteenth Amendment signed by President Lincoln, a shawl worn by President Lincoln on a visit to Gen. George McClellan, handwritten notes by Lincoln that contain his signature, and photographs by Alexander Gardner.

The history of the Lincoln Collection would not be complete without mentioning Frank Schoonover, a Wilmington artist and illustrator, and members of his family. Frank Schoonover served as president of the Lincoln Club, 1950-1951, and drew the Lincoln sketch that appears on various Lincoln Club programs and documents. While out on the battlefield in Virginia during the Civil War, President Lincoln gave his shawl to a shivering Colonel John Schoonover, father of Frank Schoonover. The shawl was donated to the collection by Frank’s son, Cortland Schoonover. Frank Schoonover also designed the Club's logo, which appears in the mastheade of this website.

The Lincoln Collection at the Wilmington Library opened to the public on May 26, 1941, and was available one afternoon a week, October through May, with an attendant provided by the American Association of University Women. Starting in the Fall of 1960 the Lincoln Club provided funds to defray the cost of providing an attendant. Mrs. S. Marston Fox became hostess in 1962 and remained in this position until she left the area in 1984.

During remodeling of the Wilmington Library in 1969, the entire collection was placed in storage. The Library’s board of directors decided to abolish the Lincoln Collection when they found they needed the space for other purposes. The Lincoln Club’s board persuaded the Library to seek another home, which resulted in the presentation of this rare collection to the University of Delaware.

In 1972, the Lincoln Collection was donated to the University of Delaware and relocated to the University’s Goodstay Center in Wilmington, where it was housed in three rooms furnished to represent Lincoln’s Springfield period. The Tallman family provided financial assistance for these rooms. Donald A. Rydgren (1922-2017) was curator and host of the Lincoln Collection at Goodstay for 45 years.

Over the years, members of the Lincoln Club of Delaware and the University of Delaware administration determined that significant portions of the Lincoln Collection would be more appropriately preserved, displayed, and available for research in the University Library’s Special Collections Department. Beginning in 1998, selected materials were transferred from Goodstay to the Special Collections Department, located in the Hugh M. Morris Library on the Newark campus. Facsimiles of many items remained on display at Goodstay.

The Club actively supports the Collection, adding books and other memorabilia as they become available, and supporting the upkeep and maintenance of existing exhibitions. Collection descriptions as well as online exhibitions drawn from the Lincoln Collection are available via the Special Collections website. Records of the Lincoln Club of Delaware are also housed in Special Collections.

Donations for maintenance and expansion of the Collection are welcome. Tax deductible donations in support of the Collection may be made to the University of Delaware, attn: Lincoln Collection, University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press; Newark, DE 19717-5267.

Lincoln Collection Curators and Liaisons

Donald A. Rygren, 1964-2009

Timothy D. Murray, 1998-2016

L. Rebecca Johnson Melvin, 2016-2025

Hillary Kativa, 2025-present