2025 ALA Cantigny Summer Symposium
Saturday, June 21, 2025
Join us for the Third Annual Abraham Lincoln Association Cantigny Summer Symposium, held at the beautiful Cantigny Park Visitor Center in Wheaton, Illinois. Mark your calendars for this enriching event:
Date: Saturday, June 21, 2025
Time: 9:00 a.m. to Noon CT
Location: Cantigny Park Visitor Center, 1S151 Winfield Road, Wheaton, Illinois (Park Map)
The symposium is free and open to the public, but advance registration is required. Please register by contacting Kay Smith at kaysmith.ala@gmail.com.
Featured Speakers and Topics
Michael Burlingame: “John Locke Scripps—Lincoln’s First Biographer.”
Dr. Michael Burlingame, Chancellor Naomi B. Lynn Distinguished Chair in Lincoln Studies at the University of Illinois Springfield, is a celebrated historian and author of twenty books on Abraham Lincoln, including the acclaimed two-volume biography Abraham Lincoln: A Life. Praised by prominent figures such as James M. McPherson and Christopher Hitchens, Burlingame is recognized as one of the foremost Lincoln scholars of our time.
Guy Fraker: “Young Abraham & Ann Rutledge—A New Salem Infatuation?”
Guy Fraker is the respected author of Lincoln’s Ladder to the Presidency and Looking for Lincoln in Illinois, both essential explorations of Lincoln’s time on the Eighth Judicial Circuit. Fraker’s extensive research and engaging presentations have made him a popular lecturer and tour leader, bringing the early career of Lincoln vividly to life.
Mark Pohlad: “Abraham Lincoln—The Lawyer and Politician in Chicago”
Dr. Mark Pohlad, Associate Professor of Art History at DePaul University, is renowned for his studies on Abraham Lincoln’s depiction in art and photography. He has published widely in historical journals and is currently completing a significant work on Lincoln’s legacy in Chicago, slated for release by Southern Illinois University Press.
Scott Schroeder & David Weigers: “The Lincoln Sculpture Project—A Digital World Tour”
Scott Schroeder, a dedicated Lincoln historian and healthcare professional, alongside acclaimed photographer David Weigers, presents a visually stunning and informative digital journey through global sculptures of Abraham Lincoln. Both Schroeder and Weigers are deeply involved with Lincoln-related scholarship and multimedia projects, serving on advisory boards of esteemed Lincoln organizations.
Don’t miss this extraordinary opportunity to delve deeper into Abraham Lincoln’s remarkable life and legacy through insights from leading scholars and enthusiasts.
Auction of Lincoln Artifacts Raises $8 Million
A major auction of Abraham Lincoln artifacts held on May 21, 2025, raised nearly $8 million. The highest bid for a single item was over $1.5 million (including auction fees) for the blood-stained gloves Lincoln wore on the night of his assassination.
Freedman/Hindman Auction House conducted the sale on behalf of the Lincoln Presidential Foundation. The Foundation’s predecessor had originally acquired the Taper Collection of Lincolniana, of which approximately 10 percent was auctioned. The sale aimed to retire longstanding debt from the collection’s initial acquisition years ago.
Other assassination-night items also surpassed their pre-auction estimates. Lincoln’s handkerchief fetched $826,000, more than double its initial projection. A monogrammed cuff button from Lincoln’s sleeve sold for $445,000, and a ticket stub from the fateful performance of Our American Cousin went for $381,200.
Notable additional items included a partial sheet from Lincoln’s “sum book,” featuring mathematical calculations and a poem, which sold for $521,200. The first printing of Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address significantly exceeded its estimated value of $40,000 to $60,000, selling for $165,000.
A point of intrigue was the participation of an anonymous bidder, identified only as “Paddle 1231,” who purchased roughly $4 million worth of artifacts—including the gloves, handkerchief, and several other high-value items. Speculation has arisen suggesting that this bidder might be Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and his wife, given their previous purchases of Lincoln artifacts for donation to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. The Governor’s office did not offer comment.
The remaining 90 percent of the Taper Collection remains with the Foundation as it addresses the debt and explores future display venues. You can see all the items and their sale prices at the Freeman/Hindman’s site here.