Lincoln Lore newsletters and newspaper clippings

In 1929, directors and associates of the Lincoln National Life Foundation decided to create a bulletin composed of little known facts about Abraham Lincoln. It was planned that Lincoln Lore bulletin number one would be issued in 1929 on April 15, the anniversary day of Lincoln’s death. Since this date fell on a Monday, the publication has since appeared on that day of the week.

The first issues of the bulletin were printed on the company's own presses. They consisted of short disconnected items which gave the bulletin the appearance of a clip sheet. Later, single monographs of 1200 words covered the entire sheet, and the back reverse page offered space for mounting clippings on the same general subject.

The original mailing list in 1929 was made up of 359 individuals including authors, students and collectors. In five years was up to 1117 and in 1954 it had increased to 3500 people, 1000 educational institutions, 500 public libraries, 150 newspapers, or a total of 5200 recipients of Lincoln Lore.

Improvements were made in the first issue of 1930. Better paper was used to allow the punching of holes for filing in loose-leaf binders. The color of paper changed from white to manila and brown ink was used. A new masthead was created, using the silhouette of the Pickett head of Lincoln which the Foundation had acquired. The title design was changed; lettering was made of imitation logs, creating a rustic appearance.

The indexes were done in three parts: Titles of Bulletins, Index to Subjects and Index to Persons. Lincoln Lore had now become the reference source for Lincolniana.

(Information from Lincoln Lore, Number 1303, March 29, 1954)