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+--- Thread: John Wilkes Booth Ring (/thread-1913.html)
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John Wilkes Booth Ring - PaigeBooth - 09-16-2014 03:10 PM
As many of us know, Lucy Hale gave JWB a ring that he wore on his pinky finger. As the days to Lincoln's assassination drew near, Sam Chester (when he met with Booth in New York in early April) noticed JWB was very fond of this particular ring and Booth told Chester he was engaged.
Does anyone know whatever happened to this ring? Was Booth wearing it the night he assassinated Lincoln???
Attached is a picture of Booth wearing a ring on his pinky finger. I do, however, have doubts that the ring in this picture is the one from Hale. I've seen many photos of Booth that show him wearing a ring. Those pictures including the one I have attached would have been prior to the time he courted Lucy. Did Booth own other pinky rings before the one from Lucy???? And if so, was he wearing one when he died? If he was, where is the ring now?
RE: John Wilkes Booth Ring - L Verge - 09-16-2014 04:35 PM
Pinky rings were very popular with men of the middle and upper classes during the 19th century, so it would not have been unusual for Booth to have owned several. My mind is fading with age, but I believe there was one still in the family that was brought along by a descendant on one of our Booth tours in the early-1980s.
If you want to believe the medical examiners who supposedly x-rayed the Booth mummy back in the 1930s, there is one in the mummy's tummy - even engraved with the letter "B."
Finally, there is a lady in California (who may be a member of this forum) who has been tracing the hair ring supposedly given by Lucy to her beloved. I know she found a sales receipt for such a ring (from Tiffany's?), but I got caught up on other things at work and have not stayed on top of this. Perhaps Betty or Dave has???
RE: John Wilkes Booth Ring - Jenny - 09-16-2014 05:46 PM
Quote:Finally, there is a lady in California (who may be a member of this forum) who has been tracing the hair ring supposedly given by Lucy to her beloved. I know she found a sales receipt for such a ring (from Tiffany's?), but I got caught up on other things at work and have not stayed on top of this. Perhaps Betty or Dave has???
I had never heard about this! Very interesting. I wonder if she's had any further luck!
RE: John Wilkes Booth Ring - Gene C - 09-16-2014 06:36 PM
I found this interesting picture on google of a hair ring
http://static.fjcdn.com/pictures/Hair+Ring.+The+game_3ee161_4044255.jpg
RE: John Wilkes Booth Ring - Jenny - 09-16-2014 07:21 PM
(09-16-2014 06:36 PM)Gene C Wrote: I found this interesting picture on google of a hair ring
Now that was just foul, Gene!!
Hair ring indeed!
RE: John Wilkes Booth Ring - RickBeaver - 09-16-2014 07:41 PM
Could this be the red hairing of the case?
RE: John Wilkes Booth Ring - BettyO - 09-16-2014 09:35 PM
Attached are photos of two rings - the first Pearl Ring - is supposedly the one that JWB gave to Isabel Summers -
[attachment=941]
The second one is the supposedly Tiffany hair ring which JWB had on when he died....
[attachment=942]
[attachment=943]
RE: John Wilkes Booth Ring - STS Lincolnite - 09-16-2014 09:58 PM
(09-16-2014 09:35 PM)BettyO Wrote: Attached are photos of two rings - the first Pearl Ring - is supposedly the one that JWB gave to Isabel Summers -
The second one is the supposedly Tiffany hair ring which JWB had on when he died....
Betty thanks for posting these. I have not seen these before. Where to these rings currently reside?
RE: John Wilkes Booth Ring - BettyO - 09-16-2014 10:14 PM
I only have the photos and think that the Isabel Summers ring photo was posted earlier on the forum.... Sorry but I dont have more info on it. Laurie may have info on the JWB ring - I may also have something on that one; I'll check...
RE: John Wilkes Booth Ring - L Verge - 09-17-2014 06:18 AM
I think Isabel's ring went to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum as part of the Taper collection. I have no recollection of where the hair ring went or is. I don't remember that it was on Booth when he died, but I may be wrong.
RE: John Wilkes Booth Ring - Rsmyth - 09-17-2014 06:32 AM
Laurie is correct about Isabel's ring. It is in Springfield. Both their initials are on the inside. It was found in her NYC apartment when she died by her granddaughter along with love letters Booth had written her approx. 50 years prior. My wife and I were privileged to hold the ring...with cotton gloves on of course.
RE: John Wilkes Booth Ring - Jenny - 09-17-2014 08:17 AM
Was Booth even wearing a ring when he died? I honestly don't remember. I want to say he might have been but I might also be thinking of that "mummy ring" they pulled from the impostor Booth's stomach in the 1930s.
RE: John Wilkes Booth Ring - RJNorton - 09-17-2014 08:24 AM
(09-17-2014 08:17 AM)Jenny Wrote: Was Booth even wearing a ring when he died? I honestly don't remember. I want to say he might have been but I might also be thinking of that "mummy ring" they pulled from the impostor Booth's stomach in the 1930s.
Hi Jenny. I do not know. I also do not know about the accuracy of this web page, but here is a quote from it:
"It's not part of the exhibit, but Lucy Hale is said to have been secretly engaged to Booth. When Booth was captured, he was wearing a ring from Lucy Hale and carried a small photograph of her, said Thom Hindell, chairman of the trustees of the Woodman Institute Museum in Dover, the Hales' hometown. The Woodman museum also features a Lincoln exhibit."
http://www.concordmonitor.com/article/exhibit-touches-on-lincoln-assassination
RE: John Wilkes Booth Ring - Jenny - 09-17-2014 08:53 AM
Thanks, Roger!! Fascinating stuff!
RE: John Wilkes Booth Ring - BettyO - 09-17-2014 09:30 AM
I can't remember if it was said that this hair ring was the ring Booth was wearing when he was captured or not.... I will check my records to see if I can find the info - if not, Ms. Smyth in California will probably know....