Gettsyburg Address, first draft, page 1, handwritten by Abraham Lincoln. Click to see a larger version.

There are five verified copies of the Gettysburg Address that were handwritten by Abraham Lincoln, all with somewhat different wording. Two of them were written before he gave the Gettysburg Address and three of them after the address.

Each version is named for the person he gave the copy to. The first draft is called the “Nicolay Copy” because he gave it to his personal secretary, John Nicolay. The first page is written on White House stationery (photo above) and finished on a different kind of paper (photo below) some time prior to giving the address at Gettsyburg. Both photos are from the Library of Congress online catalog.

Lincoln wrote a second draft, called the “Hay Copy” which was given to White House Assistant John Hay. Historians are divided as to which of these two versions Lincoln used at Gettysburg.  More information about all five versions is here.

Gettsyburg Address, first draft, page 2, handwritten by Abraham Lincoln. Click to see a larger version.