Lincoln Museum in Springfield Illinois needs a $9M donation/loan or else :(
Broadstruck
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Lincoln museum artifacts could go to auction due to a historic debt
At the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois, Abraham Lincoln's legacy is alive. But some of Lincoln's most prized possessions are in peril – including his hat, gloves, quill pen and a fan that belonged to his wife, Mary. They may go to auction because of a historic debt, reports CBS News correspondent Adriana Diaz.
"What I sometimes say is, he couldn't catch a break in the 19th century and it seems now he can't catch a break in the 21st century," Carla Knorowski said. She runs the museum's private foundation, which is more than $9 million short on a $23 million loan used to buy Lincoln artifacts from a private collector. The money's due next year, and one way to get the money fast? Auction off Lincoln's belongings.
Illinois state historian Sam Wheeler let us into their high-security vault.
"This is where we keep the greatest treasures," Wheeler said.
Treasures that could be sold include Lincoln's iconic hat made of beaver fur. "As people called out, 'Good evening, Mr. Lincoln,' he donned that cap," Wheeler said. There were even two marks on the brim from "well-worn fingerprints."
Abraham Lincoln's hat is part of the collection at the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois. CBS NEWS
Also at risk: a Wanted poster from Lincoln's assassination in 1865 and the gloves stained with his blood that were in his pocket on that ill-fated night.
"I've seen people stand in front of the bloody gloves, stand in front of the stovepipe hat, and they'll weep because that's the physical connection they have with the greatest president in American history," Wheeler said.
To save these items, Knorowski hopes private donations pour in.
"What do you say to folks who say that your organization shouldn't be depending on the public to save it, to bail it out?" Diaz asked her.
"We would encourage them to not to view it as a bailout but rather as an opportunity to give back to the man who's done so much for us," Knorowski said.
She said the financial crisis is partly to blame because donations declined, but that rationale is not enough for Tony Leone – a Lincoln buff himself – who once sat on the board that oversaw the museum.
"Somebody's got some explaining to do," Leone said.
"We really don't have any serious accounting of how much they raise every year and how much they spend," he added, saying he thinks it's reached the level of a scandal.
Knorowski said there was no "mismanagement of funds," and if they're able to raise the money they need, "it'll be the scream that went around the world."
They have to decide whether to go to auction and which items to sell in the next few months. They have even started a GoFundMe page, which has raised more than $7,000. But that's a long way from the $9.7 million needed to save the items from auction.
Comments
Wow... that is a very sad situation. Artifacts such as those should just be transferred to the Smithsonian....Cheers, RickO
Or move the Museum to a better (though Lincoln, IL) location for more paying visitors. Unfortunately, our education system has been perverted! American History dealing with our founders and the unique American culture and principles it was based on has been practically erased. As I wrote before, the number of line inches devoted to Washington, Lincoln, Franklin, and Jefferson in the modern HS History Book in FL takes up about 1 1/2 page inches while the space devoted to JUST TWO recent presidents (who
shall not be named) takes up over three-page inches. Don't doubt me, I counted them while in a HS Hurricane shelter to kill time.
I’ll be the skunk in the room and say that I am not sheading any tears for these folks. They are on the hook for $9 million because they spent $23 million to buy items from a private collector. That sounds like mismanagement and poor planning to me.
I don’t know about the market for most historical collectables, but in the coin and political items markets, $23 million buys a lot of material. This private collector either had a ton of stuff, or could it be that the he or her heirs “saw the museum coming.”
Those who have read my previous posts know that I am not a fan of museums having stuff and never displaying it, except to “special people.” I don’t know how much of this Lincoln memorabilia is sitting in the vault, but if it is, I’d rather see it go to private collectors who will appreciate it.
This is part of the politically correct, re-write history movement which modern educators have perpetrated upon our youth to indoctrinate rather than educate them.
Don’t get me wrong. There were flaws in the American history courses I took in the 5th, 8th and 11th grades. The teachers got bogged down, probably trying to keep the poor students in the loupe, with colonial and early Federal history to the point where there was very little time devoted to the 20th century. That was unfortunate and wrong, but situation now which mostly has everything ignored before 1900 is also short sighted.
People have to accept that every generation has had its flaws. You can’t take people out of their historical context and expect them to conform to what you think is right today. Sure, Washington owned slaves, but he moved to free them upon his death. They were not all freed because a large number of them belonged to Martha. Still he saw the evils of the system and stated the process of changing it when he died in 1799.
Learning how the world has become more civilized over centuries is an important lesson to be learned from studying history. My studies with British coins and my recent interest in Ancient Roman material has taught me that.
I tend to agree with Bill Jones comments.
The board of directors better get their asses in gear and raise those funds pronto.
http://www.alplm.org/AboutUs/BoardofDirectors.aspx
I give away money. I collect money.
I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.
I think they have come to a time to re-think the way they are doing business. Obviously they do not have enough income. Something has to change to generate more, although it might be a bit late. I know if I went there I sure would like to see those "vault" items, why are they not on display? Is the location appropriate for income generation? What expenses can be reduced or eliminated? Staff? Time to knuckle down and get to work on a direction change.
It appears that the new facility (built in 2005) construction costs could be part of the problem (200,000 sq ft and largest of all Presidential Libraries). Theatres and such. They need an audit asap.
bob
The actual management of the museum and library is run by an agency of the Illinois st government .....
https://www2.illinois.gov/alplm/museum/About/Pages/default.aspx
I give away money. I collect money.
I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.
Illinois State Government …
That explains a lot. The state of Illinois is been in financial difficulty for a long time. Mismanagement and corruption have been at the root of it on both sides of the aisle. The joke in Illinois is that the governors have frequently moved from the Governor’s Mansion to the state prison.
I think it’s time to call an auction house and get the sale stared. Let’s hope the auction house selection process is not “wired” to the current group of government officials. Otherwise the sale might go to “Uncle Elmer’s Auction House” who ponied up a political contribution last year for just this contingency.
LOL, Government? Well, that explains a lot.
If those 40 Board Members approved the purchase, they should have a plan to pay for it. Most of their big money donors are other foundations, and government grants. This is so typical of abused foundations. Now they cry wolf when the mess is their own doing. I've seen it happen first hand.
Sounds like a mess of their own making.
Oh boy, how terrible !!!
Mismanagement, pure and simple. No sympathy (or money) from me.
If the foundation had sufficient credit history to secure a $23 million dollar loan, then refinancing the remaining $9 million shouldn't be an issue. This sounds like a publicity stunt for money/donations and/or government grants.
https://www.gofundme.com/save-lincoln-artifacts-donate-now
The woman said the funds were due next year per @broadstruck. On her Go Fund Me page, she said the foundation had 20 months in May of this year. Hmm...
Look at the size of the bloated staff!
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
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Someone needs to install an arbiter or comptroller type guy to get rid of the bloat. I bet there are patronage jobs, extra workers, over spending, maybe even fiduciary malfeasance. We shall see. Peace Roy
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The last Annual Report was in 2014 and they received $14 million in State support. No audit. Looks like a corrupt state agency with a bloated budget and little revenue. No donations from me either.
Opened in 2005, the museum has had considerable turnover in leadership and financial instability even though the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency is part of the state government. The facility is not a "Presidential Library" in the same sense as the real things operated by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The document collection is sparse - most Lincoln materials are held by other archives - and the rest is largely good quality historical recreation.
As for spending $23 million on artifacts - sounds like there was no plan for fundraising or visitor increases to pay for this. The remaining $9 million should come out of Illinois state tourist funding -- or maybe from one of the former governors now in jail.... ?
The facility could be turned over to the National Park Service much as was done with Saint-Gaudens' "Aspet," although I doubt NPS would want it.
I think the money was burning a hole in their pockets and they wanted to spend it all - regardless of whether or not the items were worthy to be put in a museum display. I'm sure they paid top dollar too, since it was a private sale, and not an auction they bought from. Being Illinois, there definitely was corruption involved. Probably purchased during the Blagojevich years.