President Abraham Lincoln hand-wrote two Emancipation Proclamations — one was sold to raise money for soldiers who were injured during the Civil War.

That one burned in the Chicago fire in 1871.

The other, which is on display for just 48 hours each year, is coming to the Reagan Library next month. The original proclamation is just one part of the "Forever Free" exhibit, which opens Friday and runs through Oct. 24.

To showcase the historical documents that helped end slavery in the United States, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum is holding an exhibit of Lincoln artifacts. The exhibit will include 16 pieces of Lincoln history from the private collection of Louise Taper, a Los Angeles resident.

"Forever Free" will provide a glimpse into slavery throughout history, as well as a look at Lincoln and the Civil War.

"We don't just tell the story of one man here; we tell the story of American history and the presidency, and the Reagan Library is honored to share this piece of American history," said Joanne Drake, chief of staff for the Reagan Foundation.

The exhibit will include letters and manuscripts written by Lincoln, including a California Emancipation Proclamation — printed in California in 1864 and signed by President Lincoln for commemorative purposes — one of only three known to exist, said Rob Zucca, an exhibit specialist at the Reagan Library.

Historians say the Emancipation Proclamation, signed into law on Jan. 1, 1863, played a critical role in the reunification of the nation and the final abolition of slavery. That original proclamation will be on display Sept. 19-22 only.

The exhibit will display some of Lincoln's personal effects, including a handkerchief monogrammed by his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln; a purple porcelain chamber pot, made in Paris, from the Lincoln White House; and an 1831 law book from Lincoln's law office in Springfield, Ill.

Zucca said he went to the Taper home to view the items, which were displayed throughout the house. He noted Louise Taper lived among the artifacts she's collected and treasured for several decades.

"The California Proclamation was in the foyer, and the china (chamber pot) was in the cabinet," Zucca said.

He worried there would be too much expense and insurance attached to getting the items, but Taper was more than cooperative.

Taper contacted the Reagan Library when she heard the original Emancipation Proclamation would be on display in September and offered to lend some items from her personal collection.

Zucca thought she had already sold her entire collection to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum last year for what was estimated at $20 million.

Herb Gooch, a political science professor at California Lutheran University, said the exhibit will draw a bigger audience for the museum.

"From a political perspective, this really does put the Reagan Library on the international map, not just California," Gooch said.

Gooch once visited the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., and saw an "obscure credenza" that had the contents of Lincoln's pockets when he was assassinated in 1865. He was touched by the display.

"Exhibits have a way of touching us that's different than all the information that we read about," Gooch said.

The library's display will also include sterling silver sugar tongs from Lincoln's days as a lawyer in Springfield, Ill.

One of Zucca's favorite items from the exhibit is a presidential pardon written on a cloth bandage for a wounded soldier for "any supposed desertion."

It was written on May 28, 1864, during the Union Army's bloody Wilderness campaign, when Lincoln visited a hospital full of wounded soldiers.

Another poignant reminder of the cost of the Civil War includes two photos of Lincoln displayed side by side. The first one is when he took office with a full, healthy face. The second was taken after the war ended, showing the nation's 16th president worn, skinny and aged — much more beyond the four years that had passed, Zucca said.

The exhibit will also contain a timeline of slavery throughout the ages, beginning with the 1760 B.C. Code of Hammurabi, which declared that slaves could be sold or inherited, and ending with the proposal and ratification of the Constitution's 13th Amendment in 1865 stating that "neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist within the United States."

The date of the "Forever Free" exhibit opening is also important to Lincoln's legacy — it's the date he wrote a letter to Horace Greeley, the publisher of the New York Tribune. On Aug. 22, 1862, Lincoln firmed up his intent to end slavery for good.

Two years later, the Emancipation Proclamation was signed into action by Congress.

"Part of (President Reagan's) legacy is about his promotion of freedom and democracy worldwide," Drake said. "One of the most telling documents of freedom and democracy is the Emancipation Proclamation."

Lincoln's hand-signed Emancipation Proclamation will be on loan from the National Archives and Records Administration. The Reagan Library will extend its regular museum hours to view the five-page document when it is on display in September.

For more information, go to http://www.reaganlibrary.com.