Washington — Housed in the Library of Congress, the nation's oldest federal cultural institution, there's a treasure trove of past and present in the new “Collecting Memories” exhibit that opened this week.
“What we want people to get from looking at just a sample, a small sample of the treasures of the Library of Congress, is that these are their memories,” librarian Carla Hayden told CBS News. “These are his papers. He is the nation's library.”
The exhibit displays rare artifacts spanning centuries of history, starting with a handwritten draft of President Abraham Lincoln's history. Gettysburg Address in 1863, and a photo of Lincoln from that day.
“This is the only photo we have, or anyone has, of him at Gettysburg,” Hayden said.
The exhibit also includes the contents of Lincoln's pockets from the night he was assassinated, including a pocket watch, two pairs of glasses, a handkerchief and a wallet with his name on it.
There is also a glass flute first lady that Dolly Madison saved when the White House was burned by the British in 1814, made famous again after pop star Lizzo. visited the library and he played it in one of his concerts in September 2022.
“After Ms. Lizzo played that flute, we had a teacher reach out to us and say, 'I think more kids are going to want to play the flute after seeing that,'” Hayden said. .. It went off and people said, 'What else does the Library of Congress have?'”
With more than 178 million items, the library whittled the display down to just over 100 of its most prized possessions, including Oscar Hammerstein's “Do-Re-Mi” lyrics from “The Sound of Music” , the original Spiderman drawings, designs. of the Washington Monument and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the sewing machine used to construct the AIDS Memorial Quilt.
“These are the things we want everyone to be able to see,” Hayden said. “You don't have to be the president of the United States. You don't have to be a visiting ambassador… You can watch it, it's free, and you can have that pinch-me moment.”
Nicole Killion
