The Abraham Lincoln Chair after Shipment to Greenfield Village, January 1930

Henry Ford identified with self-made men who came from humble origins -- traits personified by Abraham Lincoln. In the late 1920s Ford began to acquire significant Lincoln-related artifacts including the chair in which President Lincoln had been sitting when he was shot. Ford clearly understood the chair's importance -- this rocker became a symbol of Lincoln's vision and personal sacrifice. Ford had the chair's arrival and unpacking filmed and photographed.