National Republican Chart, Includes a Grace Bedell Group of Ephemera

Description

A handsome, hand-colored Republican political chart for the 1860 Presidential Campaign, featuring shoulder-length portraits of Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin, the Republican Candidates for President and Vice President, and their biographies, at the center.

11-year-old Grace Bedell of upstate New York viewed this identical chart. It prompted here to write Lincoln to share  a suggestion that Lincoln should grow a beard, because his face was too thin.  Lincoln famously wrote back: would it not be “a silly affect[ta]ion if I were to begin it now?” But he did!  Grace later made a cottage industry of writing to people with her entire story. 

A portrait of George Washington overlooks the candidates, w/ depictions of the previous 14 U.S. Presidents bordering the chart.  It outlines the Republican Platform and features various anecdotes and quotes from Lincoln and past presidents that promoted Republicanism, democracy, and antislavery views.  

A map of the United States at the center displays the relative proportion of free and slave territory, along with tables that list facts and figures regarding the area and population of free and slave states as well as past elections! 

Quite scarce & an important Lincoln story!

(GRACE BEDELL) NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CHART / PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN 1860.  NY:  J. W. Naughton, (1860).  Hand colored; illustrations; 28.5″ x 37.25″ paper laid on canvas.  Matted; then sandwiched between high quality rag boards, and preserved. House in a specially made storage step mat w/ Mylar covering.   A Bidell Collection with signed letters and newspaper clippings is included, list to follow here.