Oak Ridge Cemetery - Lincoln's Tomb
by Susan Rissi Tregoning
Title
Oak Ridge Cemetery - Lincoln's Tomb
Artist
Susan Rissi Tregoning
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Here is a closer look at the bronze statues at Lincoln's Tomb at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois.
The bronzed bust up close is a reproduction of Gutzon Borglum's marble bust of Lincoln located in the United States Capitol Crypt in Washington. The artist captures the distinctive features of Lincoln's face, his deep-set eyes, prominent lower lip, and even his wart. Even if you do not recognize the artist's name, I know you are familiar with Borglum's best-known work, Mount Rushmore, in South Dakota.
After the bust was completed in 1908, Robert Lincoln, the president's son, praised it in a letter to the artist, saying: "I think it is the most extraordinarily good portrait of my father I have ever seen, and it impressed me deeply as a work of art which speaks for itself in the most wonderful manner."
Notice how shiny Lincoln's nose is. That's because everyone rubs it for good luck. When I visited the tomb, a family was standing close by admiring Lincoln's bust. As they started to walk away, I asked, "Aren't you going to rub Abe's nose?" They looked at me like I was crazy! LOL
I'm not quite sure how or when this custom started, but I've been doing it since I was a little girl. Growing up in Illinois, my school made an annual trek to the State Capitol and Abe's Tomb. Of course, it's a standard Illinois school field trip. So, if you're from here, you probably automatically rub his nose without much thought. The state tried to fight it for a while, raising the pedestal so his nose was harder to reach. It was even a criminal act to touch it back then but that didn’t stop anybody from doing it. They finally just gave up and lowered the bust to its original height. Now a metalsmith comes by periodically to patch the hole in Abe's nose caused by all the rubbing. I notice while there that he's about due for a patch job.
I wonder if this custom stems from the rhyme, "Find a penny, pick it up, and all day long you'll have good luck," since the Lincoln penny dates to 1909, but the bust was not installed until the 1930s reconstruction.
Another custom I noticed that I do not remember from my youth is that people leave pennies everywhere around the tomb. I need to dig up some old pictures and see if they were doing this way back when, or if it’s a new thing.
Copyright 2022 Susan Rissi Tregoning
Uploaded
July 22nd, 2022
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