What was Booth wearing?

[L Verge]

You are absolutely right, Joe (about the hat). A soft slouch is easier to keep on the head, easier to adjust the brim, and easier to stash somewhere. And please don't compliment Mr. Peacock too much; it only makes him spread his feathers more! I can say that because (up until now) Rick has been one of my dearest friends.

He is quite dashing in the various period outfits he wears while giving tours at Surratt House. Remind me to tell y'all the story of the Red Hat Ladies one day -- or the drunken chick he had on tour...

[Rick Smith]

(12-12-2013 07:14 PM)J. Beckert Wrote:  If I'm not mistaken, the low crowned hat Booth is wearing in that photo is a dress hat, a "low topper" or "John Bull". A stiff hat covered with beaver skin - a lower version of the popular stovepipe. Expecting a ride into a wet, cold night, I'm guessing he would have opted for something more functional, like the one the devilishly handsome Mr. Smith is wearing.......

Joe,

I agree with you as to JWB's hat. A bit too fussy for rough and ready wear.

Rick

[J. Beckert]

(12-12-2013 07:28 PM)L Verge Wrote:  He is quite dashing in the various period outfits he wears while giving tours at Surratt House. Remind me to tell y'all the story of the Red Hat Ladies one day -- or the drunken chick he had on tour...

I'd rather hear it from him. He tells great stories.

"Well, Joe, it went like this, son....."

[Rick Smith]

(12-12-2013 07:28 PM)L Verge Wrote:  You are absolutely right, Joe (about the hat). A soft slouch is easier to keep on the head, easier to adjust the brim, and easier to stash somewhere. And please don't compliment Mr. Peacock too much; it only makes him spread his feathers more! I can say that because (up until now) Rick has been one of my dearest friends.

He is quite dashing in the various period outfits he wears while giving tours at Surratt House. Remind me to tell y'all the story of the Red Hat Ladies one day -- or the drunken chick he had on tour...
[/q

Laurie,

Right. That soft slouch hat could be folded and tucked into your vest if need be.

OK, how much will it cost me to keep you quiet about the drunk chick?

And the Red Hat Ladies? It was touch and go as to whether I would get out of there.

Rick

---

(12-12-2013 08:07 PM)J. Beckert Wrote:  [quote='L Verge' pid='27968' dateline='1386894524']
He is quite dashing in the various period outfits he wears while giving tours at Surratt House. Remind me to tell y'all the story of the Red Hat Ladies one day -- or the drunken chick he had on tour...

I'd rather hear it from him. He tells great stories.

"Well, Joe, it went like this, son....."

Oh, well. All right, son . . . it was a dark and stormy day at Surratt's and I had just walked up to the house and was about to enter the tavern room when . . . uh, better wait till I see you in March.

---

Laurie,

Bill Wickham, a hat maker in Gettysburg, better known to you as Dirty Billy, actually makes a "Booth" hat and an "Adzerodt" hat.

I took photos to him of all the Booth action team who had their images taken while wearing hats; George, Mike, Ned, Lewis, and suggested he make hats to represent all; a "Conspirator's Line" of hats.

Nothing as of yet.

Rick

[irshgrl500]

(12-12-2013 11:11 AM)Gene C Wrote:  What kind of tie does one wear with a flannel shirt?

I think you're right Gene, Booth was wearing all black, and his button up shirt was flannel, and I'm almost sure he wasn't wearing a tie. His Frock coat, (which was double breasted and accepted as formal day time full dress, thus relegating the dress coat exclusively to evening full dress.), and when worn with formal evening full dress, it would normally be worn with a white tie. The Frock coats often were designed with peaked lapels, which also allowed the coat to be worn as informal wear. Booth was using his Frock coat as an informal piece, as he was dressed "dapper" country, and ready to ride (wearing his black riding or calf- length boots rather than the traditional dress Cavalry boots.)

[Rick Smith]

(12-13-2013 02:43 AM)irshgrl500 Wrote:  

(12-12-2013 11:11 AM)Gene C Wrote:  What kind of tie does one wear with a flannel shirt?

I think you're right Gene, Booth was wearing all black, and his button up shirt was flannel, and I'm almost sure he wasn't wearing a tie. His Frock coat, (which was double breasted and accepted as formal day time full dress, thus relegating the dress coat exclusively to evening full dress.), and when worn with formal evening full dress, it would normally be worn with a white tie. The Frock coats often were designed with peaked lapels, which also allowed the coat to be worn as informal wear. Booth was using his Frock coat as an informal piece, as he was dressed "dapper" country, and ready to ride (wearing his black riding or calf- length boots rather than the traditional dress Cavalry boots.)

Booth was wearing riding boots that were tall enough to reach to mid thigh. These boots were made this way so as to help grip while in the saddle. We know this as there is one on display at Ford's. My feeling is that he would have been wearing a tie. The flannel shirt he wore was not like a flannel shirt from LL Bean. It would have been made like most men's shirts of the period; with a stand or fall collar and front button placket which means the shirt is pulled on over the head.

[Gene C]

Thanks Rick. That clears that up. I'll pass that on to my two sons so they won't try to find me a tie for Christmas that goes with my red plaid flannel shirt.
(although a solid black tie might work)

I haven't seen boots like you mentioned since the last time I was in downtown Washington DC. A very friendly young lady on the subway had some on like you described. Her boots didn't look very comfortable.

[L Verge]

Karin, what is the source of your statements on Booth's dress? It would be highly unusual for a man to be without a tie unless he was doing hard manual labor -- and certainly not at night entering a theatrical performance.

What is your source for him having on a double-breasted frock coat? I don't ever recall seeing such a description. Wouldn't such a formal coat make it difficult to ride a horse? Would it have a split tail in back for adjusting to a horse? Didn't men unbutton their coats in order to ride more comfortably (especially when riding at top speed)?

The eyewitness account posted by Joe earlier (Joseph Hazelton's) is the most detailed description that we have to go by, I believe. I just wish that Hazelton had included a description of the tie, but neck attire was something that just went without saying because it was so standard for men to have on.

[RJNorton]

Thank you to Rick for sending this image:

Booth's Riding Boot

[Rick Smith]

(12-13-2013 09:32 AM)Gene C Wrote:  Thanks Rick. That clears that up. I'll pass that on to my two sons so they won't try to find me a tie for Christmas that goes with my red plaid flannel shirt.
(although a solid black tie might work)

I haven't seen boots like you mentioned since the last time I was in downtown Washington DC. A very friendly young lady on the subway had some on like you described. Her boots didn't look very comfortable.

Gene,

You can see one of Booth's riding boots here{made by Lutz of Broadway NYC with Booth's initials inked inside}:

http://www.fordstheatre.org/home/plan-yo...broken-leg

Rick

---

(12-13-2013 11:15 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  Thank you to Rick for sending this image:

Booth's Riding Boot

Oops! Roger beat me to it, Gene.

Thanks for posting the photo, Roger.

Rick

[LincolnMan]

So does anyone know what happened to the clothing Booth was wearing at his death?

[L Verge]

In between chores here at work, I have been trying to find any description of that, Bill, or of the clothes that remained when they exhumed the body in 1869. So far, no luck. The only thing I can ever remember seeing about his dead body was that his stick pin from Dan Bryant was holding together a tear in his undershirt.

[irshgrl500]

(12-13-2013 09:34 AM)L Verge Wrote:  Karin, what is the source of your statements on Booth's dress? It would be highly unusual for a man to be without a tie unless he was doing hard manual labor -- and certainly not at night entering a theatrical performance.

What is your source for him having on a double-breasted frock coat? I don't ever recall seeing such a description. Wouldn't such a formal coat make it difficult to ride a horse? Would it have a split tail in back for adjusting to a horse? Didn't men unbutton their coats in order to ride more comfortably (especially when riding at top speed)?

The eyewitness account posted by Joe earlier (Joseph Hazelton's) is the most detailed description that we have to go by, I believe. I just wish that Hazelton had included a description of the tie, but neck attire was something that just went without saying because it was so standard for men to have on.

Laurie, I;m sorry, I thought I cited my sources for Booth's dress, in my first post but here they are for Booth's dress, the night he shot President Lincoln: (the source from Roger's page, did state Booth was wearing calf length boots; they obviously did not get a close look at the length of the boot, as it is much higher than calf length. The boot which, Roger displayed belonging to Booth, had to reach his thighs, as a few folks here, said. After all, Booth was only 5'8".)

http://www.fords.org/home/explore-lincoln/learn-story
http://www.fords.org/sites/default/files...incoln.pdf

http://rogerjnorton.com/Lincoln36.html
Booth put on black calf-length boots, new spurs, a black frock coat, black pants, and a black slouch hat. He picked up his diary. Booth carried a compass, a small derringer, and a long hunting knife that could be stuck inside his pants on the left side. Booth loaded the .44-caliber derringer with a lead ball. It was a single shot pistol. At 7:45 he exited the National Hotel.

http://rogerjnorton.com/Lincoln83.html

Here are the balance of my sources for men's dress of 1860's: (a double breasted Frock coat or walking coat is pictured in the first link.)

http://www.victoriana.com/Mens-Clothing/...-1868.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_suit
http://www.lazyjackmess.com/attire.htm

I also said that it was highly unlikely that Booth was wearing a tie, with a flannel shirt. Flannel shirts weren't normally worn with a tie; normally they were worn with a collar or detachable collar.

[RJNorton]

Hi Karin. I am at fault here regarding the term "calf length boots." When I wrote that web page 17 years ago I had just retired and didn't have the array of assassination books I have today. At that time I probably owned less than 10 assassination books. I probably (not sure, though) got that from Jim Bishop's book, and since those days, I have learned not to rely so heavily on what Mr. Bishop says. It was the book (along with Twenty Days) I had used with my 8th graders when we studied the assassination in class. I have since updated the web page to read "riding boots."

Even though it's been 17 years I am still pretty consistently making corrections on the site. The other day I got a letter from a gentleman who felt I was misleading people by saying the funeral train "arrived in Albany." This is on my funeral train page. I checked and he was right, so I changed the wording to, "The train arrived in Rensselaer at 10:55 P.M., and from there the casket was ferried across the Hudson River to Albany."

The other day I changed the wording of one sentence on my last Lincoln photo page. I had written, "Wilson was a portrait painter who had accompanied Lincoln to Gardner's studio to provide a model for a portrait Wilson painted afterwards." A friend wrote and said it would be clearer if I changed it to, "Wilson was a portrait painter who had accompanied Lincoln to Gardner's studio so Lincoln could provide a model for a portrait Wilson painted afterwards." I agreed and made the change.

Mostly I have forgotten what I wrote 17 years ago; when changes are suggested I almost always have to look up what needs to be changed.

[RJNorton]

Once again thank you to Rick for sending this photo. This shirt is made exactly like the ones worn in 1860's from an original pattern.

Wool flannel shirt maybe like what Booth was wearing?