The Spur Question

[Julianna]

Having read this thread in full, and finding it very helpful, I would like to pose a second question related to the spurs.

I have come across the claim that the spurs (or, given what's been discussed here, at least one pair OF the spurs, if there were multiple) Booth was wearing the night of April 14th were a pair Junius had given to Edwin for his first night on the stage, which Edwin had subsequently lent to Booth.

Has this been discussed and/or does anyone have any knowledge or evidence to add one way or the other?

My research/findings up to this point are below.
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I know that the RJ Norton timeline cites Booth as putting on "new spurs" at 7:00 P.M.
https://rogerjnorton.com/Lincoln36.html

I found that in his biography, Edwin DID write that Junius lent him spurs for his first night onstage in his biography, though his account, unlike retellings that cite his biography, actually says his father demanded them back immediately after the performance. The retellings are often using the anecdote as an example of fatherly love, so they may be conveniently omitting the part where he asked for them back.
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/moa/AEA7485...w=fulltext

The published/public sources I have found supporting the Junius/Edwin spur theory are:

- Shakespeare Unlimited podcast series (2019), guest Nora Titone and author of My Thoughts Be Bloody: The Bitter Rivalry Between Edwin and John Wilkes Booth That Led to an American Tragedy, states:
"He was also wearing his father's spurs, costume pieces from Junius Brutus Booth's Richard III costume, actually."
https://www.folger.edu/shakespeare-unlim...lkes-booth

- This less-than-primary source "John Wilkes Booth Facts and Trivia" says: "The spurs John Wilkes Booth was wearing when he assassinated Lincoln were the same ones Junius Brutus Booth had lent to Edwin Booth for Edwin’s first stage appearance as an actor."
https://ironbrigader.com/2010/06/16/john...nd-trivia/
It gives the general following sources, which I don't currently have access to, but does not point to which one for the specific citation:
--American Brutus: John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln Conspiracies by Michael W. Kauffman
--American Gothic: The Story of America’s Legendary Theatrical Family-Junius, Edwin, and John Wilkes Booth by Gene Smith

--John Wilkes Booth: A Sister’s Memoir by Asia Booth Clarke

--Right or Wrong, God Judge Me: The Writings of John Wilkes Booth Edited by John Rhodehamel and Louise Taper

It seems rather plausible to me that this was a made-up extension of the original anecdote about Junius lending Edwin his spurs. Or it could be true!

Edwin's acting debut was 1849, meaning the spurs were well over 15 years old at the time of the assassination, if they'd been brand-new when Edwin lent them to him. If anyone can speak to the lifespan of 19th century spurs, that might shed some light.