According to The LA Times, Louise Taper is selling her large mansion. Taper is well known in Lincoln circles as an avid collector of all things Lincoln, amassing a large and valuable collection over the years. She has been a huge supporter of The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield -- the museum's first temporary exhibit on the assassination was mostly drawn from her vast collection, as well as the Peterson House furniture owned by the Chicago History Museum (or whatever they're calling themselves this month).
Three years ago, she sold (some say at a reduced price) her collection to the museum, including several gems: a Lincoln hat, the gloves Lincoln wore the night he was assassinated, and the famous arithmetic book that has Lincoln's famous scribble: "Abraham Lincoln/ His hand and his pen/ He will be good/ But God knows when."
For years, this collection was housed in this mansion. Andrew Ferguson, in Land of Lincoln (which I've reviewed before), tells of his visit to the Taper residence to view the collection, including the gloves and the book. Now the Lincolniana has moved to Springfield, and evidently Taper is moving on as well.
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