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Gettysburg Address on Display in Springfield
It could be the most famous speech in American history -- the Gettysburg Address. But the ink and paper, almost 150 years old, are so fragile that even though the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum has an original, it's on display only occasionally.

But that time has come again, now through Nov. 21. James Cornelius, curator of the museum's Lincoln collection, says five copies are known to exist. In the months after the address -- part of the dedication of a military cemetery at Gettysburg , Pa. -- President Lincoln wrote out copies to give to people. The one in Springfield was written for Edward Everett, the orator who was supposed to be the keynote speaker that day in Gettysburg. He went on for two hours, leading up to Lincoln's two-minute speech.

Cornelius, who says the "envelope on the train" story is not true and that Lincoln most likely finished writing the speech the night before he gave it, says the copy is usually stored in a climate-controlled vault.

(Illinois Radio Network)
07 05 10 by Newsroom
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