A celebration called “A Night of Duke Stars” has been held annually to honor staff and faculty service milestones. Along with the celebration, Staff Appreciation Week features many events for employees and their families, including Chapel services and festivals. This poster was part of a series made for Staff Appreciation Week to celebrate long-serving employees. Robert Lee Townes, Jr., a Service Area Manager in the Housekeeping department, was one of many who served Duke University for 25 years. Career Service Awards are still given today.
Some time passed before the enduring significance of President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address was recognized. It was initially published with Edward Everett’s much longer preceding speech. This rare broadside is the first separate printing of the Address, produced by publishers Miller & Mathews for the Metropolitan Fair held in Manhattan on April 4, 1864. This fair was one of the largest charity events during the Civil War. It raised funds and supplies for the Union Army.
Lincoln remained ambitious for office and set his sights on the presidency. In an invited address at Cooper Union in New York City, he echoed the abolitionists’ contention that the founders viewed slavery as an evil and that the Constitution gave Congress the power to limit its spread. He called on Republicans to stand by their core beliefs in the face of the southern states’ threats to secede. The speech was a huge success, appearing in pamphlet form and reprinted in four major New York newspapers. After a tour of New England in the months following, during which he reiterated the same ideas, Lincoln was seen as a potential presidential candidate
