Evening star., 1938-02-13
AT LINCOLN'S TOMB


cular halls leading to a room con-
| tanning the sarcophagus are lined with
| evenly spaced bronze statuettes, the
work of Lorado Taft, Daniel Chester
! French, Leonard Crunelle, Fred M.
Torrey, August st. Gaudens and A.
Weiman. A giant bronze head of
Lincoln by Gutzon Borglum reposes
on a granite pedestal at the outside
entrance. The tomb was rededicated
by President Hoover.
| In the last II years Mr.. Fay has
been host to more than 100000
guests who signed the tomb register,
and TO possibly twice that number
who failed to observe this formality.
| He has brought his collection TO
| the astounding total of more than
10000 900 items. and almost every day
he retires to his study in the center
| of the structure to record new addi-
tions. This room is piled on all
| sides with documents and photo
graphs. Thousands Of other items
are stored in rooms in his house
nearby, overflowing to extra space in
| u garage DullOlIlS OuSluc.
II have been collecting Lincoln
pictures for 73 years." Mr.. Fry said
Il not only have tens Of thousands
of pictures of Lincoln, but I have
pictures of almost every one connected
with him. Whenever I read q letter
written by Mr.. Lincoln have noted
the names of the people he mentions
therein, and then I have gone out
to find their pictures
When Mr.. Fay is host to authors
in quest of material or students in
terested in Lincoln lore he departs
frequently from the routine Of pro-
ducing album after album of data 10
display other items of Americans in
his collection. For example, he pos
sesses the original manuscript OF the
national hymn, America" written
by Samuel F. Smith. In another
volume Mr.. Fay has pictures OF all
the Presidents preceding Lincoln,
their authentic autographs and
statements made by Lincoln about
each one Of them.
II obtained my first picture Of Mr..
Lincoln before he died." he said. 1T Is
a small photograph and is known as
the Meserve No. IS. now own more
than 500 different impressions Of that
picture. These were sold by canvassers
during the war. They are real photo
graphs. I remember when one OF these
agents came to our home, and my
father bought picture and gave 1t to
me.
MY penchant for collecting just
gradually developed. Today people
send me pictures from everywhere. I
have in my collection 800 sittings OF
Mr.. Lincoln. No other collector know
of has more than llo. have possibly
125 originals"
| The late Vachel Lindsay, who lived
In Springfield, drew upon the collec-
tor Tor much of the material used in
his prairie verses. Lindsay lies buried
a short distance from the tomb, and
Mr.. Fay cherishes the original copy OF
Lindsay's poem Abraham Lincoln
Walks at Midnight"
Col Charles A. Lindbergh, before he
undertook his transoceanic flight, fire.
quently visited Mr.. Fay while carrying
mail on the old st. Louis-to- Chicago
air route.
Mr.. Fay also owns number Of val
liable Lincoln portraits and the passage
Of the years has made him a shrewd
and sharp judge of true likenesses.
Pointing to large painting, he said:
That painting is by William Patter-
son Of Chicago. and is one of so paint
! ings of Lincoln he has made. This
is his best. There is not money enough
in the world to buy it from me-"
II am not a millionaire" Mr.. Fay
! declares, but all I make goes into
my collection. Many people who visit
the tomb hear Of my interest in pic
lures and such and send mo things.
tell them am also an illustrator;
that is to say, loan pictures to illus
trate other peoples books and articles.
write great deal for the papers. I
have a little daily column in the Illi-
nois State Journal, In whose ofiices
Lincoln first received word OF his elec-
ton, telling Of visitors to the tomb who
take more than passing interest
| in It,"
To the casual visitor Mr.. Fay Is al
ways brief but polite. But to the seri-
ous-minded stranger, he will give a
complete and detailed picture Of the
tomb
Entering the tomb from the SOUTH"
he will tell you, "the pilasters you see
are from Utah. with panels from Mis-
souri,. The floor Of the entrance room
here Is chiefly constructed Of Roman
travertine of q whitish yellow shade.
The right-hand corner rooms are nm
ished in Minnesota buff mankato,
which geologists call dolomite.
"As you go down the long, narrow
hallway the frieze and pilasters are
also made Of Italian Rosso Alicante,
while the panels are from Spain.
The cenotaph is Of red fossil from
Arkansas. You understand, . ceno-
taph Is stone resembling = sarco-
phagus, but without body in or
under it.
"Mr. Lincoln's body is six feet from
the inside north wall, 10 feet below
the floor. with head to the west. You
may recall that an attempt was made
on the night Of November 7, 1876, to
steal the body Of Mr.. Lincoln from
its stone sarcophagus.
when the tomb was rebuilt, to
make sure the ghouls would never
have another opportunity, the casket
was encased In steel and cement AMI
Dlaced 10 feet below the 6oor,"