Selections from the Otto C. Rentner, Lincoln and Civil War Literature Collection
June 1, 2011 - December 20, 2011
curated by
Tim Murray
This exhibition celebrates the 2010 gift of the Otto C. Rentner Lincoln and Civil War Literature Collection by his granddaughter and son-in-law, Fran and David Lupardus. The Rentner Collection contains a variety of books, journals, and ephemera focusing on Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War era. The collection is particularly strong for books published in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries.
Otto C. Rentner (1887-1964) was born in Chicago and received his law degree from the Illinois College of Law. After practicing law at Rentner and Meyer Law in Chicago, he became an assistant judge in the Circuit Court of Chicago and was active in Democratic politics. In 1946 Judge Rentner moved to Appleton, Wisconsin to join the Aid Association for Lutherans Insurance Company as general counsel, and later as vice president, president, and chairman of the board. He was a Lincoln and Civil War scholar for most of his adult life and was a member of the Lincoln Society of Illinois.
The granddaughter of the late Otto C. Rentner, Fran Lupardus, inherited the collection. She and her husband, David Lupardus, donated the collection to the University of Delaware Library in accordance with her grandfather’s wishes that the collection be given to an appropriate institution.
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Abe Lincoln of Pigeon Creek: a Novel. New York: Whittlesey House, [1949].
In this novel the author draws a fascinating fictionalized portrait of the young Abraham Lincoln.
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Lincoln's Secretary: a Biography of John G. Nicolay. New York: Longmans, Green, [1949].
This biography of one of the most important figures in the Lincoln administration was written by his daughter Helen, who was an accomplished author and artist.
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Mr. Lincoln's Army. Garden City, N.Y.,: Doubleday, 1951. Signed by the author.
Bruce Catton’s Army of the Potomac trilogy was one of the most successful Civil War histories. Catton’s final volume in the trilogy, A Stillness at Appomattox, won the Pulitzer Prize for history and the National Book Award for excellence in nonfiction in 1954.
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Glory Road: the Bloody Route from Fredericksburg to Gettysburg. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1952.
Bruce Catton’s Army of the Potomac trilogy was one of the most successful Civil War histories. Catton’s final volume in the trilogy, A Stillness at Appomattox, won the Pulitzer Prize for history and the National Book Award for excellence in nonfiction in 1954.
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A Stillness at Appomattox. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1953.
Bruce Catton’s Army of the Potomac trilogy was one of the most successful Civil War histories. Catton’s final volume in the trilogy, A Stillness at Appomattox, won the Pulitzer Prize for history and the National Book Award for excellence in nonfiction in 1954.
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The Lincoln of the Thirtieth Congress. Boston: Christopher Pub. House, [1950].
This monograph offers a fascinating look at Lincoln’s brief career as a Congressman from Illinois.
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The Hidden Civil War: the Story of the Copperheads. New York: The Viking Press, 1942.
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Lincoln under Enemy Fire: the Complete Account of His Experiences during Early's Attack on Washington. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, [1948].
The author provides a detailed account of President Lincoln’s activities during the Confederate General Jubal Early’s attack on Washington, the only time a sitting U.S. President has been exposed to the fire of enemy guns.
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Lincoln and the Baltimore Plot, 1861: from Pinkerton Records and Related Papers. San Marino, Calif.: Huntington Library, 1949.
This account of a conspiracy to assassinate the newly-elected president en route to his inauguration is based upon the contemporary reports by the detective Allan Pinkerton and his agents.
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Lincoln Group Papers; Twelve Addresses Delivered before the Lincoln Group of Chicago on Varied Aspects of Abraham Lincoln’s Life. Chicago: J. Henri Ripstra, 1945.
This copy is inscribed by the publisher, J. Henri Ripstra, to Otto C. Rentner.
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Impressions of Lincoln and the Civil War: a Foreigner's Account, translated from the French by Aldebert de Chambrun. New York: Random House, [1952].
These Impressions consist of the letters of this French diplomat to his wife during the Civil War years. Chambrun had access to all levels of government and his letters provide glimpses of Lincoln, Stanton, Grant and other military and political leaders.
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The lost years: a biographical fantasy. New York: Knopf, 1951.
This novella imagines what might have happened if Lincoln had not been assassinated and was able to complete his second term as President.
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Abraham Lincoln's Favorite Poem: Its Author and His Book. Peoria, Ill.: E.W. Meredith, 1935.
Lincoln’s favorite work of poetry was an anonymously-written poem titled “Mortality.”
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Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865. [N.p.: The Americanization Department, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, 1926].
This pamphlet prints the text of one of Lincoln’s most admired speeches.
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The Man without a Country. [n.p.: The Americanization Department Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States.
This pamphlet is a scarce printing of Hale’s famous story, which was first published anonymously in 1863.
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The Drama of Lincoln's Assassination: an Address Delivered at Lincoln Memorial University on the Occasion of Its Fortieth Anniversary, February 12, 1937. Harrogate, Tenn.: [The University?, 1937].
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Nurse and Spy in the Union Army: Comprising the Adventures and Experiences of a Woman in Hospitals, Camps, and Battle-fields. Hartford, Conn.: Published by subscription only by W.S. Williams, 1865.
Emma Edmonds was one of approximately 400 women who succeeded in enlisting in the army during the Civil War. Her uniqueness is that she not only succeeded in remaining in the army for several years--disguised as a man--but was also eminently successful as a Union spy and later as a nurse.
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Artemus Ward on His Visit to Abe Lincoln: Letter III. Reprinted from Vanity Fair, December 8, 1860. Chicago: Poor Richard Press, 1939.
In this private press chapbook, the popular American humorist describes a fictionalized visit to President Lincoln at his home in Springfield, Illinois.
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Life on the Circuit with Lincoln. Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton Printers, 1940.
This book provides a detailed account of Abraham Lincoln’s career as an attorney in Illinois.
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If Lincoln Had Lived: Addresses
These four distinguished speakers speculate on what might have been if Lincoln had not died in 1865.
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Raymond Massey Reading Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address. New York: Linguaphone, [ca. 1940.]
This very scarce 78 rpm phonograph record features the great American actor Raymond Massey in one of his most famous roles.
