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Wesley Harris · 05-23-2013, 11:35 PM

(05-23-2013 11:25 PM)John Stanton Wrote: Look back at the picture of Powell's knife, at post #2. That sheath was made to be worn on a belt. Very snug fit, so as not to fall out. That sheath was machine made. Maybe that was Powell's KNIFE, but not his sheath.

The sheath accompanying Powell's knife at the Huntington Library appears to be in much better condition than those at Ford's Theatre belonging to Herold and Atzerodt and the one in storage Dave & I believe belonged to Booth. My guess is the Powell sheath is not original but was used after the fact by Robinson or family to hold the knife.

Booth's knife sheath and two holsters were designed to slide onto a belt. He definitely had one as Dave has noted.

The knife Herold had in his boot is the one found in Atzerodt's room. Very large; same kind Powell had.

BettyO · (This post was last modified: 05-24-2013 06:22 AM by BettyO.)

Quote:I'm uncertain if any conclusions can be made from the sheath holding Lewis Powell's knife. I was at the Huntington Library in December and examined the knife for almost an hour. There is no provenance for the sheath other than that it came with the knife when the George Foster Robinson descendant donated it to the Huntington in 1961. The knife is still quite sharp, and the handguard is quite loose. The staff handed it to me in a ziplock plastic bag, which I thought was a novel approach to curatorial storage. I'd corresponded several times with different staff before I arrived at the library if I could examine it with a forensic light source to determine if there were any blood stains still present (the bone handle has a rough surface, easily hiding residue), but that brought a big--and consistent--refusal. So much for the advancement of history, let alone science.

A "Zip Lock" bag used for "conservation?" OMG - that's pretty scary, Blaine! But yet they would not let you use forensic items to check for blood stains - amazing!

Quote:The sheath accompanying Powell's knife at the Huntington Library appears to be in much better condition than those at Ford's Theatre belonging to Herold and Atzerodt and the one in storage Dave & I believe belonged to Booth. My guess is the Powell sheath is not original but was used after the fact by Robinson or family to hold the knife.

I have to agree, Wes - that sheath was probably made later by Robinson Descendants to "house" the knife.....

LincolnMan · 05-24-2013, 08:15 AM

Do we have a sheath for the Booth knife?

Gene C · 05-24-2013, 10:08 AM

(05-24-2013 06:19 AM)BettyO Wrote: A "Zip Lock" bag used for "conservation?" OMG - that's pretty scary, Blaine! But yet they would not let you use forensic items to check for blood stains - amazing!

Never underestimate the power of a good zip lock bag!
(Here's a potential marketing & advertising opportunity for them)

Laurie Verge · 05-24-2013, 10:16 AM

Blaine would know the difference, but I sure hope that was a museum-approved Mylar plastic bag.

BettyO · 05-24-2013, 06:47 PM

Agreed, Laurie! Do they even MAKE those things?!

Jim Garrett · 05-24-2013, 07:39 PM

The "brace" of revolvers at the Garrett home is well documented. I had always assumed that JWB had the dagger stuck in his belt, pants, waistband, whatever. I have always assumed, and still believe that JWB's bravado propelled him to take on the world with just the single shot deringer (derringer) and the knife. Talk about a bold move.....and he was successful

Wesley Harris · 05-24-2013, 07:41 PM

(05-24-2013 08:15 AM)LincolnMan Wrote: Do we have a sheath for the Booth knife?

Ford's has displayed two different knives as Booth's over the years. There's one on display now and another in storage. Both have sheaths.

LincolnMan · 05-24-2013, 08:19 PM

(05-24-2013 07:41 PM)Wesley Harris Wrote:
(05-24-2013 08:15 AM)LincolnMan Wrote: Do we have a sheath for the Booth knife?

Ford's has displayed two different knives as Booth's over the years. There's one on display now and another in storage. Both have sheaths.

Two knives? One was for the assassination- what about the other?

Dave Taylor · 05-25-2013, 09:46 AM

(05-24-2013 08:19 PM)LincolnMan Wrote:
(05-24-2013 07:41 PM)Wesley Harris Wrote:
(05-24-2013 08:15 AM)LincolnMan Wrote: Do we have a sheath for the Booth knife?

Ford's has displayed two different knives as Booth's over the years. There's one on display now and another in storage. Both have sheaths.

Two knives? One was for the assassination- what about the other?

Bill, message me your mailing address and I'll send you an article I wrote for Knife World about the assassination knives. It's a confusing tale.
http://boothiebarn.com/2013/03/07/my-art...ife-world/

LincolnMan · 05-25-2013, 12:23 PM

(05-25-2013 09:46 AM)Dave Taylor Wrote:
(05-24-2013 08:19 PM)LincolnMan Wrote:
(05-24-2013 07:41 PM)Wesley Harris Wrote:
(05-24-2013 08:15 AM)LincolnMan Wrote: Do we have a sheath for the Booth knife?

Ford's has displayed two different knives as Booth's over the years. There's one on display now and another in storage. Both have sheaths.

Two knives? One was for the assassination- what about the other?

Bill, message me your mailing address and I'll send you an article I wrote for Knife World about the assassination knives. It's a confusing tale.
http://boothiebarn.com/2013/03/07/my-art...ife-world/

Dave: ok, email on the way!