Most valuable missing assassination relic

[ReignetteC]

(04-16-2014 10:32 AM)L Verge Wrote:  Are all of these pieces on view to the public in Chicago? I hope they are and are appreciated there because I frankly think they should be at the Petersen House.

Laurie,

I saw the display a couple of years ago and it was nicely done.

RC

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(04-16-2014 12:57 PM)Rsmyth Wrote:  Laurie, unfortunately there is about as much chance of that happening as Ford's getting the rocker back or Egypt the Rosetta stone etc.
CHS also has:
• Bloody sheet from the Petersen house – On April 21st, 1865, Frank T. Sands, the President’s undertaker gave the sheet to General Superintendent of the Quartermaster Department, Thomas Thompson who was responsible for the funeral’s surplus goods. Samuel Bridge obtained the sheet from Thompson. Bridge’s wife Julia, who sold the sheet to collector Charles Gunther in 1893. It was accompanied by a letter from Julia:

“Sir, I send you by express today the sheet upon which our lamented Lincoln died on. The blood stains are the true blood of A. Lincoln.
• A feather bolster from Lincoln’s deathbed was obtained by the CHS from the heirs of Louise A. Petersen (Mrs. Charles Rector), daughter of William Petersen accompanied by a note: “I shall shortly deliver to you the picture that was in the room when President Lincoln died and a bolster that was on the bed which he lay…They will come as a gift from Mrs. Charles E. Rector, widow of the hotel man of this city…
• Straw mattress from the bed the President died in at the Petersen house. It was obtained by William H. Boyd from the heirs of William Petersen. It was then passed to Andrew Boyd before coming into the possession of Charles F. Gunther. It was purchased from the Gunther estate by the society.
• Blood stained towel – A piece used to cushion the President’s head at the Petersen house was given to W.S. Kaufman by William Fred Petersen, William Petersen’s son. B.F. Weishampel obtained the towel in 1865 and transferred it to the manager of the Libby Prison Museum in Chicago (Charles Gunther). Kaufman served with Fred Petersen on the Federal ironclad Roanoke. Fred cut up other towels for distribution to friends and visitors alike. An additional piece of toweling was obtained by Charles Gunther from B.F. Weishampel. This piece is also in the CHS collection. The Boston Transcript described the towel: “Mr. B.F. Weishample of this city has had in his possession since 1865 a memento of the Lincoln Assassination. It consisted of a portion of the towel that was placed under the Presidents head when dying, the blood stains still being visible. It was framed along with affidavits and a court certificate vouching its genuiness. Mr. Wieshampel has recently disposed of it to the manager of the Libby Prison Museum, Chicago, for exhibition in the relic department.” Along with the towel was a folded note with “Proof” written on one side and on the other the statement “Pieced of towel used to staunch blood of A. Lincoln. Given to W.S. Kaufman by young Petersen, son of the man into whose house Lincoln was taken from theatre in which he was shot.”
• 34-Star United States flag – worsted, backed with shear material used to cover Lincoln’s body as it was transferred from the Petersen house to the White House.
• Other items from the room in which Lincoln died at the Petersen house purchased by Charles F. Gunther and obtained through the Gunther estate by the society include:
 Chest of drawers with four drawers and wooden knob handles.
 Victorian, Boston style rocking chair, wide top rail with gilt stencil floral design, saddle seat, turned spindle arm supports and six spindle chairback.
 Brass, gas light wall bracket, engraved with a diamond pattern.
 Pewter candlestick with saucer base and adjustable slide in shaft.
 Pillow fragment from the bed on which Lincoln died at the Petersen house.


• Towel – Off white cloth fragment with light brown stains set into rectangular glass and wood frame with black tape around edges. Handwritten in ink on the beveled mat is “This is the Blood of Abraham Lincoln.”
• Piece of board from the room in which Abraham Lincoln died. Piece of stained wood attached to a 3” X 5” card on which is written “A small piece of board from the flooring of the room in which Abraham Lincoln died. Authenticated by Lewis G. Reynolds, Custodian, Lincoln Museum, Washington D.C.”
• Small, round, stippled, gold locket containing lock of President Lincoln’s hair.
Two silver, half-dollars, dated 1854 & 1861 placed on Lincoln’s eyes when he died in the Petersen House. Passing from General George V. Rutherford to Charles Gunther to Chicago Historical Society

Hi, Rich,
Did the president's undertaker, Frank Sands, keep a record of the embalming and preparation (dressing) of the president for burial?

Thanks,
RC