The Bloody Pillow Case

[Anita]

(08-14-2013 05:32 PM)Dave Taylor Wrote:  Anita,

I can explain. First off, the picture in the exhibit catalog is of the other side of the pillow. That particular image was taken by a Ford's Theatre employee and then used by the Reagan people in the catalog. Reagan is displaying the other side of the pillow where the blood stains are more visible.

The black marks you see are not period. Rather they are ink stains that occurred sometime afterward. Whether the stains occurred when the artifact was displayed early on, or are due to some mishap during storage, I don't know. Ford's is aware of the damage, however, and could possibly relate how/when the ink stains occurred.

I hope this helps.

Thanks Dave. That explains the mystery.