Lincoln Bicentennial Stamps

Four postage stamps commemorating Lincoln’s Bicentennial:

Rail Splitter.  The stamp showing Lincoln as a rail-splitter includes the earliest-known photograph of Lincoln, taken in 1846 by N. H. Shepherd, and depicts Lincoln as a youth splitting a log for a rail fence on the American frontier. When he was a candidate for President in 1860, the Republican Party used the image of Lincoln as a “rail-splitter” to enhance his appeal to the workingman.

Lawyer.  The stamp featuring Lincoln as a lawyer includes a photograph of Lincoln, taken May 7, 1858, by Abraham Byers, and shows Lincoln in a courtroom in Illinois, where he practiced law for nearly 25 years, riding a circuit of courthouses across Central Illinois.

Politician.  The stamp of Lincoln as a politician includes a photograph of Lincoln, dated February 27, 1860, by Mathew Brady, and shows Lincoln debating Stephen A. Douglas during their 1858 campaign for a U.S. Senate seat from Illinois.

President.  The stamp featuring Lincoln as President includes a photograph of Lincoln, dated November 8, 1863, by Alexander Gardner, and depicts Lincoln conferring with generals Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman toward the end of the Civil War. The depiction is based on “The Peacemakers” (1868), a painting by George P. A. Healy.

Special thanks to the US Postal Service for their guidance.