Editing John Hay (section)

===Lincoln biography===
{{main|Abraham Lincoln: A History}}
Early in his presidency, Hay and Nicolay requested and received permission from Lincoln to write his biography.{{sfn|Kushner & Sherrill|p=28}} By 1872, Hay was "convinced that we ought to be at work on our 'Lincoln.' I don't think the time for publication has come, but the time for preparation is slipping away."{{sfn|Zeitz 2014b}} Robert Lincoln in 1874 formally agreed to let Hay and Nicolay use his father's papers; by 1875, they were engaged in research. Hay and Nicolay enjoyed exclusive access to Lincoln's papers, which were not opened to other researchers until 1947. They gathered documents written by others, as well as many of the Civil War books already being published. They at rare times relied on memory, such as Nicolay's recollection of the moment at the 1860 Republican convention when Lincoln was nominated, but for much of the rest relied on research.{{sfn|Zeitz 2014b}}

Hay began his part of the writing in 1876;{{sfn|Gale|p=95}} the work was interrupted by illnesses of Hay, Nicolay, or family members,{{sfn|Zeitz 2014b}} or by Hay's writing of ''The Bread-Winners''.{{sfn|Gale|p=95}} By 1885, Hay had completed the chapters on Lincoln's early life,{{sfn|Taliaferro|p=235}} and they were submitted to Robert Lincoln for approval.{{sfn|Zeitz 2014a|p=256}} Sale of the serialization rights to ''[[The Century Magazine|The Century]]'' magazine, edited by Hay's friend Richard Gilder, helped give the pair the impetus to bring what had become a massive project to an end.{{sfn|Zeitz 2014a|pp=266–67}}

The published work, ''Abraham Lincoln: A History'', alternates parts in which Lincoln is at center with discussions of contextual matters, such as legislative events or battles.{{sfn|Gale|p=99}} The first serial installment, published in November 1886, received positive reviews.{{sfn|Taliaferro|p=250}} When the ten-volume set emerged in 1890, it was not sold in bookstores, but instead door-to-door, then a common practice. Despite a price of $50, and the fact that a good part of the work had been serialized, five thousand copies were quickly sold.{{sfn|Taliaferro|pp=261–62}} The books helped forge the modern view of Lincoln as great war leader, against competing narratives that gave more credit to subordinates such as Seward. According to historian Joshua Zeitz, "it is easy to forget how widely underrated Lincoln the president and Lincoln the man were at the time of his death and how successful Hay and Nicolay were in elevating his place in the nation's collective historical memory."{{sfn|Zeitz 2014b}}