1. Creator/Author:
  2. Oakley and Mason (2)

Teach Your Children to Build Monuments to the Illustrious Dead

Creator:
J. S. Denman, Oakley and Mason
Location:
New York, New York
Origin Date:
1865
Materials:
paper
Measurements:
overall: 17 5/8 in x 21 3/4 in
Item ID:
71.2009.081.2685b
Holding Institution:
Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection, courtesy of the Indiana State Museum
Available for Viewing:
No
Category:
Fine Art

Description

This sheet is a photocopy of one of two pages of instructions for the Parlor Monuments to the Illustrious Dead game for children. This unique game was "presented to the public, with the confident belief that it will prove a lasting blessing to those for whom it was prepared, by leading them to study the history, contemplate the characters, and emulate the virtues of the illustrious men to whom they can build appropriate monuments..." The game consisted of twenty-four wooden blocks. The four sides of each block featured a different picture or group of words. When the blocks were put together in the correct fashion, the child could build five different monuments: The Children's Monument to Abraham Lincoln; The Freedman's Monument to Abraham Lincoln; The National Monument to Abraham Lincoln; The National Monument to George Washington; and The Presidential Monument. The pictures on the two instruction sheets show the five monuments as they looked when completed. This particular sheet shows three of the completed monuments: The Freedmen's Monument to Abraham Lincoln; the National Monument to Abraham Lincoln, and the Children's Monument to Abraham Lincoln. Part of the Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection, courtesy of the Indiana State Museum