Few individuals got more "press" in American magazines of the 19th century than America's 16th president, Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln's leadership during the Civil War and his assassination are the stuff of legend - but perhaps even more endearing are the many accounts of his personality and his life before the presidency. Lincoln is perhaps the president with whom the common person can most easily identify - and he was one of the most accessible to the "common person" as well.

Abraham Lincoln (Leisure Hour, 1868)

Lincoln's Imagination (Scribners, 1879B)

The Lincoln Life-Mask and How It Was Made (Century Magazine, 1882A)

How Lincoln Was Nominated, by Frank B. Carpenter (Century Magazine, 1882B)

Two Portraits of Lincoln (Century Magazine, 1882B)

A Reception by President Lincoln, by C. Van Santvoord (Century Magazine, 1883A)

Lincoln and Grant, by Horace Porter (Century Magazine, 1885B)

Lincoln's Ancestors in Virginia, by John T. Harris, Jr. (Century Magazine, 1887A)

Lincoln and Lowell (Century Magazine, 1887A)

Lincoln as a Military Man (Century Magazine, 1888B)

Lincoln's Disinterestedness (Century Magazine, 1889A)

A Letter of Lincoln, by William C. Wilkinson (Century Magazine, 1889A)

The Life of Lincoln - A Letter from General G.W. Smith, by Gustavus Smith (Century Magazine, 1889A)

Some comments on incidents in the Civil War, by a Confederate general.

Buchanan, Lincoln, and Duff Green (Century Magazine, 1889B)

Memoranda on the Life of Lincoln (Century Magazine, 1890B)

A collection of short pieces, editorials, letters etc. on various aspects of Lincoln's life and history, including: A Word from England on Lincoln; President Lincoln in Petersburg; Lincoln's Visit to Richmond; Drawing of Ford's Theater; General Grant and the News of Lincoln's Death; At the Death-Bed of President Lincoln; Diagram of the House in Which President Lincoln Died.

A Speech of Lincoln's (Century Magazine, 1890A)

Judge Holt and the Lincoln Conspirators, by Horatio King (Century Magazine, 1890A)

The Inside Facts of Lincoln's Nomination, by Thomas H. Dudley (Century Magazine, 1890B)

The Faith of President Lincoln, by L.E. Chittenden (Harper's Monthly, 1891A)

A Letter from Lincoln When in Congress, by L.L. Gilkey (Century Magazine, 1891A)

Life in the White House in the Time of Lincoln, by John Hay (Century Magazine, 1891A)

Greeley's Estimate of Lincoln, by Horace Greeley (Century Magazine, 1891B)

An unpublished address by Horace Greeley.

Lincoln's Personal Appearance, by John G. Nicolay (Century Magazine, 1891B)

Lincoln's Goose Nest Home, by Alonso Hilton Davis (Century Magazine, 1892B)

Abraham Lincoln's Last Hours, by Charles Sabin Taft, MD (Century Magazine, 1893A)

"From the notebook of an Army surgeon present at the assassination, death, and autopsy."

Lincoln on the Spoils System (Century Magazine, 1893B)

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, by John G. Nicolay (Century Magazine, 1894A)

Drafts, corrections, and facsimiles of the handwritten address.

Lincoln's Literary Experiments, by John G. Nicolay (Century Magazine, 1894A)

Samples of Lincoln's poetry, a lecture, and other rare snippets.

Lincoln's Place in History, by John Coleman Adams (Century Magazine, 1894A)

The Works of Lincoln as a Political Classic, by Francis N. Thorpe (Century Magazine, 1895B)

Glimpses of Lincoln in War Time, by Noah Brooks (Century Magazine, 1895A)

Lincoln, Chase, and Grant, by Noah Brooks (Century Magazine, 1895A)

Lincoln's Re-Election, by Noah Brooks (Century Magazine, 1895A)

Two War-Time [Political] Conventions, by Noah Brooks (Century Magazine, 1895A)

Lincoln's second nomination; contention over Reconstruction plans; the dark days of 1864; McClellan's nomination at Chicago; Salmon Chase on the Supreme Bench.

Washington in Lincoln's Time, by Noah Brooks (Century Magazine, 1895A)

The Close of Lincoln's Career, by Noah Brooks (Century Magazine, 1895B)

Zachariah Chandler in Lincoln's Second Campaign, by Charles Moore (Century Magazine, 1895B)

Appeals to Lincoln's Clemency, by Leslie J. Perry (Century Magazine, 1896A)

Cases in which Lincoln intervened in executions during the Civil War.

At the Death-Bed of Lincoln, by Edwin C. Haynie (Century Magazine, 1896A)

Four Lincoln Conspiracies, by Victor Louis Mason (Century Magazine, 1896A)

Who Was the Man? by Mrs. S.F. Stewart (Century Magazine, 1896B)

This isn't precisely about Lincoln; it's the writer's recollection of the experience of learning about Lincoln's assassination.

President Lincoln and the Widow of General Helm, by Emily Todd Helm (Century Magazine, 1896B)

A Recollection of Lincoln in Court, by F.G. Saltonstall (Century Magazine, 1897A)

Abraham Lincoln: A History, by John G. Nicolay and John Hay

This biography of Lincoln, written by two of his private secretaries, remains one of the classics. It was serialized in Century Magazine between 1887 and 1890. Various versions, some expanded, some condensed, can be found on Archive.org, but I've never been able to find this exact version in e-book format. In addition, the Century serialization contains a host of portraits and illustrations that don't seem to have appeared in most of the other editions. So I'm pleased to be able to offer this original serialization here. Please be aware that each of these files is very large, running from 15MB to nearly 45MB. I recommend that you download these files to a computer or laptop, not to a phone or tablet. The table of contents is from one of the online editions, so the page numbers are irrelevant, but the contents do correspond fairly closely to this version of the biography.

• Contents
• Part 1 - Century Magazine, 1887A
• Part 2 - Century Magazine, 1887BA
• Part 3 - Century Magazine, 1888A
• Part 4 - Century Magazine, 1888B
• Part 5 - Century Magazine, 1889A
• Part 6 - Century Magazine, 1889B
• Part 7 - Century Magazine, 1890A