What happened to the original casket?

[historybuff22]

According to a documentary by the History Channel, when the Lincoln tomb/memorial was rebuilt in 1887, it was discovered that the sarcophagus was too narrow for the original casket to fit. Lincoln's body was placed in a new, narrower casket that would fit in the sarcophagus. What happened to the original casket? "They" wouldn't have trashed it. Where is it?

Rick Brown
HistoryBuff.com
A Nonprofit Organization

[LincolnMan]

Great question Rick. Too bad we don't have a connection with any of the Lincoln Tomb docents- or do we?

[LincolnToddFan]

Considering that the original casket was said to have cost a king's ransom I can't imagine they would have just trashed it....or would they have? So many important historical artifacts have come up missing. It drives me crazy with frustration!

I find it astonishing that they would have actually removed they president's remains from his coffin. It was said to have mummified into the consistency of stone by then so I think it would have been a rather difficult thing to accomplish at that point.

[RJNorton]

If I am reading this correctly, the original casket no longer exists. Apparently after the caskets were switched the original one was buried under the monument. Then, during a reconstruction of the monument, a steam shovel inadvertently struck the original casket and broke it beyond repair. The casket's handles were given to the Illinois State Historical Library.

[LincolnMan]

Great information Roger.

[Houmes]

If I am reading this correctly, the original casket no longer exists. Apparently after the caskets were switched the original one was buried under the monument. Then, during a reconstruction of the monument, a steam shovel inadvertently struck the original casket and broke it beyond repair. The casket's handles were given to the Illinois State Historical Library.

Good find, Roger. When the Lattimer collection went up for auction in November of 2008, six coffin handles from the original coffin were sold along with a small piece of cedar wood from the coffin. The handles were from the Herbert Wells Fay collection (Fay was custodian at the Lincoln tomb) and the wood was from the Emmett Fostell collection. Fostell was a prominent vaudevillian who had indirectly acquired the wood from the family of Jesse Dubois, a personal friend of Lincoln.

I had always wondered what happened to the original coffin.

[Rsmyth]

In the collection of the Illinois State Museum there is a picture of Herbert Fay standing next to the coffin. On the back is written "Not saved 1931. Constructor Broken up by mistake." It is known that pieces were given as souvenirs and the rest disposed of.

[RJNorton]

When the Lattimer collection went up for auction in November of 2008, six coffin handles from the original coffin were sold...

Apparently the 6 handles (one broken) are now housed at the Historic Auto Attractions Museum in Roscoe, IL. Has anyone ever been there? The museum also claims to have Abraham Lincoln's straight razor, hair samples from Abraham Lincoln, Mary Lincoln, and Mary Surratt, plus the manacles worn by Lewis Powell. And these are just a sample of the items the museum claims it has.

http://historicautoattractions.com/m/exh..._death.asp

http://historicautoattractions.com/m/exh...rsonal.asp

http://historicautoattractions.com/m/exh...eitems.asp

[BettyO]

Apparently the 6 handles (one broken) are now housed at the Historic Auto Attractions Museum in Roscoe, IL. Has anyone ever been there? The museum also claims to have Abraham Lincoln's straight razor, hair samples from Abraham Lincoln, Mary Lincoln, and Mary Surratt, plus the manacles worn by Lewis Powell. And these are just a sample of the items the museum claims it has.

Roger - If these manacles "worn by Powell" belonged to Lattimer - they are supposedly the correct ones. Lattimer, years ago, showed me the provenience. I can't vouch for anything else. We DO now know that the supposed "knife" which Lattimer also owned is the wrong one and that the correct one is at the Huntington -

[L Verge]

As for the Surratt lock of hair, as best as I can see it bears credentials from the Manuscript Society - which is a very reputable organization. I was friends for years with the editor of its newsletter, however, and I think he would have alerted me to this if he had known about it.

It is nicely presented, but why are these things in an automobile museum? The carriage that carried the Lincolns' party to Ford's Theatre that night is in the Studebaker Museum, but that makes sense (four wheels and all that...).

[Rsmyth]

You are correct Betty. The manacles are from the Lattimer collection. As for the coin, this one is also from the Lattimer collection.

[Eva Elisabeth]

It is nicely presented, but why are these things in an automobile museum? The carriage that carried the Lincolns' party to Ford's Theatre that night is in the Studebaker Museum, but that makes sense (four wheels and all that...).

That was my question when reading this:

http://artdaily.com/news/48486/Original-...1WA4vubHJs

[BettyO]

You are correct Betty. The manacles are from the Lattimer collection. As for the coin, this one is also from the Lattimer collection.

I have a photo of myself wearing those Lily Irons, taken years ago, courtesy of Dr. Lattimer. They were huge - I could easily get my hands in and out of them, so Powell's hands must not have been but so small.....

[wsanto]

It is nicely presented, but why are these things in an automobile museum? The carriage that carried the Lincolns' party to Ford's Theatre that night is in the Studebaker Museum, but that makes sense (four wheels and all that...).

That was my question when reading this:

http://artdaily.com/news/48486/Original-...1WA4vubHJs

If I owned a car company and wanted to open a museum by purchasing historical items with my gads of cash, I would probably buy rare Lincoln artifacts because that is what interests me most.

[LincolnToddFan]

If I am reading this correctly, the original casket no longer exists. Apparently after the caskets were switched the original one was buried under the monument. Then, during a reconstruction of the monument, a steam shovel inadvertently struck the original casket and broke it beyond repair. The casket's handles were given to the Illinois State Historical Library.

Incredible, thanks Roger. I had no idea that AL had ever been removed from that original very elaborate and expensive casket!

BTW I ordered "Smithsonian Civil War: Inside The National Collection" through Amazon and it arrived Saturday. GREAT book! There is a photo of the teacup AL was sipping from just before he slipped into his overcoat and left the WH for Ford's Theater on the night of April 14 1865. It's from the elegant china service ordered by MTL in 1861. Apparently a servant saw the president set the cup on an open windowsill, and in the morning the cup was still there. The servant gave the cup to RTL, who passed it on to his descendants. It was donated to the
Smithsonian in 1958.

I am almost embarrassed to admit by how fascinated I am by stuff like this!