Heart of Lincoln Land

The new "Immortal Words at Gettysburg" Lincoln T-shirt, showing the new enlarged design. Copyright © 2009 Lincoln Apparel.

For some time I’ve been meaning to restock my Immortal Words at Gettysburg T-shirts, since I sold out of most of them. Along with that, I always wanted to redo the design as a large "oversize" print, so that the details in the fonts and in the picture of Lincoln could be seen. I now have the new "Immortal Words at Gettysburg" T-shirts redone with the big print, and I posted them on the Lincoln Apparel website last night. (I’ve also been working on redesigning some parts of the Lincoln Apparel site, and adding new features to it – you’ll notice some of this when you visit.)

The new T-shirts feature a 15×20 inch print, as opposed to the 12×16 inch print on the old T-shirts (of which I still have a few). The bigger design makes the text that much more readable and detailed, and the picture of Lincoln more imposing. It was always my intent to have this design printed so that it filled much of the front of the shirt; now, I’ve fulfilled that intent. In addition, "Immortal Words at Gettysburg" is now available in both men’s and women’s versions. The new ones are on American Apparel, so they are made in the USA and sweatshop free, the way Lincoln would want it to be.

The original "Immortal Words at Gettysburg" T-shirt, for comparison purposes. Still a good shirt, but notice how the design is smaller.

"Immortal Words at Gettysburg" is one of my most popular designs so far. One of the interesting things about it is how it seems to draw more attention online than locally. It is a design that explores how Lincoln is remembered by many different cultures and generations, using the words of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, which is printed in its entirety on the shirt. I used a different font for each of the 272 words in Lincoln’s address, representing the different eras and different kinds of people that have evoked Lincoln and his memory. I created the design last fall about a month before the November 19th anniversary of the date Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address. You can read more about the creation of the T-shirt and the Gettysburg Address in the above linked blog post.

In addition to my website, the new "Immortal Words at Gettysburg" T-shirts are available at Springfield Novelties and Gifts on 6th Street in beautiful historic downtown Springfield, and on Saturdays at the artisan area of the downtown Springfield farmer’s market, located at 4th and Adams. Of course, you’ll be able to find my other designs at these places, too. The next day I’ll be at the market will be this Saturday, June 19th, also known as Juneteenth, an African-American holiday that celebrates the date in 1865 that word reached Texas that Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation had set the slaves free. It’s neat how this week’s date has a Lincoln connection. Hopefully Lincoln will give me some luck and I’ll do well, and I hope to see you there!

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On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln delivered a “few appropriate remarks” at the newly-created national cemetery at Gettysburg. The speech contained only 272 words and lasted maybe 3 minutes, far shy of the main speaker Edward Everett’s speech, which lasted 2 hours. Many people attending the event did not realize that President Lincoln had given a speech until after he had given it.

However, the speech was soon recognized as a masterpiece. It became an eloquent embodiment of the ideas of freedom, democracy, and equality, and of the sacrifices made to maintain, and improve, those things. Down through the ages, its words have been interpreted countless different ways and for many different purposes. It has been memorized by countless schoolchildren, and I can recite it from memory.

Within my lifetime, the words of the Gettysburg Address have been used on both the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and at the pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989. It’s been used in advertising and in political campaigns and speeches, including Obama’s. The immortal and multicultural nature of the Gettysburg Address inspired me to create this T-shirt.

I made each of the 272 words of the speech (in red on the T-shirt) a different font, to reflect different eras and different cultures. I spent many hours tweaking the fonts to get them to play well together and look nice. I added this on top of a large blue picture of Abraham Lincoln, along the right side of his face. The picture of Lincoln is based off a portrait of him taken on November 8, 1863, 11 days before he gave the Gettysburg Address. I felt it was fitting and proper to use a portrait of Lincoln that was taken at around the same time as the address.

As finishing touches, I added Lincoln’s signature, the date (November 19, 1863), and the title, “Address Delivered at the Cemetery at Gettysburg”. This is from the so-called “Bliss copy” of the address, the last revision Lincoln made of the address and the text most commonly used as the standard text for the address.

Now you can contribute to the immortality of the address – and of the man who gave it – by wearing them both on a T-shirt. Neat, isn’t it? Check out the Lincoln Apparel website and my Etsy shop for my new Lincoln "Immortal Words at Gettysburg" T-shirts. The T-shirts are screen printed, and they are 100% cotton and are made right here in the U.S.A.

Here’s some more fun facts about the Gettysburg Address:

* There are only 10 sentences in the Gettysburg Address.
* Lincoln likely spent several weeks working on his address. Lincoln was known to take his time writing speeches, polishing them until they were “perfect”.
* No, Lincoln didn’t write it on the back of an envelope on the train to Gettysburg. The ride was bumpy and it was only 70 minutes long. In addition, none of the surviving copies appear on an envelope and the earliest known copy is on White House stationery.
* Lincoln likely did finish working on his address at the Wills House, where he stayed in Gettysburg the night before the speech.
* There are 5 different surviving copies of the address in Lincoln’s hand known today. These are known as the Nicolay, Hay, Everett, Bancroft, and Bliss copies (in that order). They all differ slightly. Supposedly there is a 6th copy (the delivery copy) of the address in Lincoln’s hand but it has not been found.
* The Everett copy is the one that the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum here in Springfield has.
* The Nicolay and Hay copies are at the Library of Congress. The Bancroft copy is at Cornell University, and the Bliss copy is in the Lincoln Bedroom at the White House (which was Lincoln’s office during his time).
* The words “under God” were added in the Everett copy.
* The last three copies were made as souvenirs. The Bliss copy was made because the Bancroft copy did not fit the format the printer was going to use properly. The dates and the titles were added in these.

Enjoy the new T-shirts and have some Lincoln fun!

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