On Tour: The Gettysburg Address

By Marcus Gilmer in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 1, 2009 3:00PM

Many of us at Chicagoist are history buffs so we were pretty excited to hear that one of the five known copies of the Gettysburg Address has made its way to town. Starting today, the "Everett Copy" of the speech goes on display at the Chicago History Museum, but only for a short spell. The copy has been making the rounds in honor of the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth and, according to James Cornelius, curator of the Lincoln collection at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, which owns the manuscript, "Let's just say it needs a good rest."

The pages on display were a copy requested by Everett [a Massachusetts politician], best known as the keynote speaker at the Nov. 19, 1863, dedication of Soldiers National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pa. After Everett's 13,000-word, two-hour speech, Lincoln stood to deliver his famous address in just over 2 minutes and 10 sentences.

Be sure to swing by for a viewing because it'll only be on display until May 3. [Tribune]