Abraham Lincoln's Stovepipe Hat, Etc.

[RJNorton]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/arti...story.html

[Dave Taylor]

The production company that is shooting this documentary for the Smithsonian channel also used one of the replica diaries that I helped create with Italian prop maker Pasquale Marsella as a stand in for the real one. I'm excited to see their finished product in the spring.

[L Verge]

Surratt House was contacted by a representative from that production company several weeks ago, so I hope that we will play a small role in the documentary also. As for the exhibit planned to open at the Ford's Theatre Educational Center on March 23, we are hoping (and using our contacts) to be able to include it on the "Going on a Manhunt" version of the Booth escape route tour that will be the Sunday highlight of the Surratt conference on March 22. That Manhunt tour will be conducted (appropriately enough) by author James Swanson.

[LincolnMan]

Great story. I didn't know that Miss Keene had donated her blood-stained sleeve. Also, sad the note that she lived only nine years later after the assassination.

[LincolnMan]

Any living descendants of Laurie Keene?

[BettyO]

I think so - there is a great-great grand daughter or possibly a great-great niece. She was at a talk along with Ed Issacs in New York I think, a couple of years ago. I have an article and photo of them both in my files. I'll look for it -

[LincolnMan]

Betty that would be wonderful. Hope you find them.

[maharba]

I can't think of anyone else wearing that bizarre hat. Was it to try and appear taller I wonder. Abraham Lincoln was 6 foot 3, but so was Washington and Jefferson, and I think Lyndon Johnson was 6 foot 5. I can't remember seeing any of them often even wearing a hat. Looking again through old clippings, his hat was given to preacher Phineas Gurley by Mary Todd Lincoln, and the Estate of Gurley had to sue to try to get it returned from a Lincoln collector.

[RJNorton]

I've read that these hats served as storage bins for important papers, letters, etc. But they also added to the height advantage Lincoln already had over others, and I am guessing he enjoyed that feeling.

If this page is correct Lincoln was slightly taller than Lyndon Johnson.

[Eva Elisabeth]

I can't think of anyone else wearing that bizarre hat. Was it to try and appear taller I wonder. Abraham Lincoln was 6 foot 3, but so was Washington and Jefferson, and I think Lyndon Johnson was 6 foot 5. I can't remember seeing any of them often even wearing a hat. Looking again through old clippings, his hat was given to preacher Phineas Gurley by Mary Todd Lincoln, and the Estate of Gurley had to sue to try to get it returned from a Lincoln collector.

AFAIK this was the fashion of those days, and most likely (my guess) you can't think of anyone else wearing it because most photos were portraits taken in studios where one wouldn't wear headwear. The President was sure an exception to also take outdoor photos of.

He used his hat as filing cabinet, thus the taller the hat the more storage room.

I once had a similar question but from a slightly different angle: why would someone who had zero interest in fashion would wear such an uncomfortable hat (while I've always understood Abraham Lincoln was ignorant of his appearance, i.e wouldn't have cared how becoming something was to him as long as it was comfortable, like his carpet slippers).

So why this hat? Meanwhile I learned a lot from the Victorian experts on this board, and my perception (the experts may correct this) is that 1.) it was inappropriate in general to show up in the street without any headwear, and 2.) that this kind of hat represented a gentleman's standing, and Abraham Lincoln was sure proud of his achievements. Despite I think there was not much choice and this the hat of the days.

And yes, I second Roger, he certainly liked that feeling and often asked others to measure up with him. Please see e.g. my last post here: http://rogerjnorton.com/LincolnDiscussio...r#pid52646

[RJNorton]

Many thanks to Joe Beckert for sending this photo of Lincoln's hat. Joe was at Hildene last July, and he took the photo there. Joe writes, "The docent said RTL gave it to a friend in nearby Dorset, Vt., whose family returned it when Hildene was turned into a historic site in the 80's. On an earlier visit, I was told Lincoln owned 7 stovepipe hats and only 3 are accounted for (with one being suspect)."

[L Verge]

I can't think of anyone else wearing that bizarre hat. Was it to try and appear taller I wonder. Abraham Lincoln was 6 foot 3, but so was Washington and Jefferson, and I think Lyndon Johnson was 6 foot 5. I can't remember seeing any of them often even wearing a hat. Looking again through old clippings, his hat was given to preacher Phineas Gurley by Mary Todd Lincoln, and the Estate of Gurley had to sue to try to get it returned from a Lincoln collector.

Actually, many men wore these hats before Lincoln was born and continued to wear them after his death. Google Top Hats and you'll find several interesting histories of this form of haberdashery, starting in the 1700s. For a century, you could study the "rise and fall" of this hat since its "in vogue" height changed over the years with the stovepipe being the "peak" (yes, pun intended) height.

In the days before mass media, there was even a gentleman who walked through the town announcing deaths. He wore a top hat to which was attached a long flowing veil in the back to distinguish him as the death announcer. And, even some women wore them as part of their riding habits.

Here's an interesting article from the Smithsonian magazine regarding Mr. Lincoln's preferred style. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/ab...60/?page=2

[Eva Elisabeth]

Thanks, Laurie - interesting to article. The sentence "You couldn't miss him in the crowds" reminds me of that one reason for the Queen wearing outfits of such eye-catching colors and styles is security - it's easier to keep an eye on her. Lincoln however had little or interest in his protection.

The top hat (not as tall as Lincoln's though) is still part of the uniform of chimney sweeps in Germany:
http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/featur...ney-sweeps

Please notice the passage: "...a battered top hat in which he keeps his business cards and a notepad—his mobile office, as he calls it."

[maharba]

Apparently it was his favorite (or last worn) stove-pipe hat. The clipping
had it appropriated by a 'Lincoln relic collector' name of Oldroyd. I don't
know that any event I have ever seen anyone wear one. Now a shiny
black top hat can be a fashion statement, yes. The odd clipped, sparse
black beard along with the extra tall stovepipe hat and a dark black suit
are a memorable combination. I would guess that the executors of Rev
Gurley's estate took some financial consideration in lieu of having the
hat returned. Only a guess.

[J. Beckert]

The hat was actually exhibited as evidence at the trial of the conspirators. This is the first I've heard about Mary giving it to Dr. Gurley.