Cast of Lincoln's Hand

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This bronze casting of Lincoln's right hand shows a clenched fist holding the sawed-off handle of a broomstick. The bottom of the cast reads "Original made Springfield, Ill., May 21, 1860 by L.W. Volk." In 1860, shortly after Lincoln was nominated for the presidency, Chicago sculptor Leonard Volk made a plaster cast of the nominee's hands at the Lincoln home in Springfield, Illinois. Lincoln's right hand had become swollen after shaking hands with countless well-wishers in his hometown. When Volk suggested holding something, Lincoln sawed off a portion of a broomstick, which is visible in the casting. In 1886, Volk's plaster casts were purchased and presented to the Smithsonian by sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, journalist Richard Watson Gilder, and collectors Thomas B. Clarke and Erwin Davis. To finance this purchase, Saint-Gaudens directed the production of a number of bronze castings, made from the original plaster cast that were personally inscribed for their owners. Date: 1860; cast in 1886 Creator: Original plaster made by Leonard Wells Volk, Bronze made under Augustus Saint-Gaudens' direction. Materials: Bronze Dimensions: 17cm L x 10cm H x 13cm W **More about this item:** * http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/tr11b.html?loclr=loc-3d#obj60 * https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1368279 Citation: Leonard Wells Volk (1828–1895). Cast of Abraham Lincoln's right hand. Bronze. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress. Gift of Alfred Whital Stern, 1953 (51.6)