Just as my fictional character Mr. Guzman reveals to Wyatt, that exact same February 13, 1842 letter from Abe to Joshua (the one Wyatt annotates on his blog) is found in numerous other historical sources, including: pages 79-80 of A. Lincoln, Speeches and Writings: 1832-1858, compilation and notes by Don E. Fehrenbacher, Literary Classics of the United States, Inc. New York, 1989; pages 56-57 of Abraham Lincoln, Complete Works: Comprising his Speeches, Letters, State Papers, and Miscellaneous Writings, Edited by John G. Nicolay and John Hay, Volume One, The Century Company, New York, 1894; and the letter is excerpted on page 175 of Herndon’s Life of Lincoln: The History and Personal Recollections of Abraham Lincoln, as originally written by William H. Herndon and Jesse W. Weik, Albert & Charles Boni, New York, 1930. The old slang definition of “lavender” is from page 607 of The Routledge Dictionary of Modern American Slang, Edited by Tom Dalzell, Routledge, 2008. And the quote about Abe and Joshua having “streaks of lavender, spots soft as May violets” is from page 266 of Abraham Lincoln, The Prairie Years – I. Volume I by Carl Sandburg, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1945.
This episode of QUEER AS A FIVE-DOLLAR BILL: THE PODCAST was written, produced, and edited by Lee Wind. Lee is the author of QUEER AS A FIVE-DOLLAR BILL and NO WAY, THEY WERE GAY?, among other titles for kids and teens.
The QUEER AS A FIVE-DOLLAR BILL audiobook, including the chapter heard in this episode, was narrated by Michael Crouch.