Lincoln exhibit just in time for inauguration

More than 60 objects from President Abraham Lincoln’s life are going on display at the National Museum of American History days before President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration, which will echo themes from the 16th president.

The exhibit, “Abraham Lincoln: An Extraordinary Life,” opens today and features the top hat Lincoln wore the night he was assassinated. Other items include his office suit and Mary Todd Lincoln’s purple gown, signs from the 1860 presidential campaign and casts of Lincoln’s face and hands. The gallery also includes pictures from Lincoln’s inaugurations in 1861 and 1865.

“In some ways, it’s an exhibit we’ve been working on for about 140 years,” said curator Harry Rubenstein. Lincoln’s top hat was the first of Lincoln’s belongings to come to the Smithsonian Institution in 1867, though it was hidden away for 26 years.

“I think when you see all of these pieces, you will see a different Lincoln -- a more intimate look,” Rubenstein said. “It also helps to make the mythic Lincoln come to life.”

This is the first major Lincoln exhibit at the Smithsonian in about 50 years and the first to gather all the museum’s objects together in a single exhibit, curators said. It was planned for the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth in February.

The exhibit will be on view for at least two years in a gallery near the “American Presidency” exhibit.

Another temporary exhibit opening today features documents on loan from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Illinois.

A rare signed copy of the Emancipation Proclamation, on loan from Washington businessman David Rubenstein, also is on temporary display.