A key to a coffin is something new to me.
For what purpose would a key be needed? Vandalism?

(03-19-2018 08:23 AM)Gene C Wrote:  A key to a coffin is something new to me.
For what purpose would a key be needed? Vandalism?

Yes. That's how Betty obtained Powell's skull that she keeps in her closet.

Alas, poor Lewis, I knew him....

I suspect that Betty is facetiously referring to a modern key to the modern coffin that she had made and donated for the reburial of Lewis's skull in Florida back in the 1990s when it was released to the Powell family by the Smithsonian.

If you are curious about coffin locks, go here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHBB5LfBLLs I'm not positive about this, but I think coffin locks are something that came about after the great Johnstown Flood in which many coffins were forced from the ground and displaced miles away. I think another thing that was created after that was the little tube that contains the deceased's pertinent information (name, death date, place of burial, etc.). It's inserted at the foot of the closed casket, I believe, in preparation for other natural disasters. I was once told that coffins/caskets should not be hermetically sealed because it hastens decomposition and can result in a literal explosion of the body inside the coffin.

Sleep well tonight, my friends. This information stems from Surratt House putting on a very popular 19th-century mourning exhibit for over ten years. The Smithsonian would even book in tour buses with us during the time it was up! Funeral and mourning customs are really an interesting part of any society's cultural history. Even the customs that were derived from Lincoln's demise -- increased embalming and the tradition of elaborate floral displays, for example -- have a place in history.

Quote:A key to a coffin is something new to me.
For what purpose would a key be needed? Vandalism?

Exactly. The Coffin has a lock and is also buried under 6 feet of concete!

And Powell has the key to Betty's heart.

Not that it exists, but I sure would have love to see Atzerodt's hat.

All good mentioning of artifacts. I have always been curious about what happened to Atzerodt's pistol (Manhattan?), which was apparently loaded and capped, for which he borrowed $10 (I think) at the Georgetown shop of a man he knew. This was on Saturday, April 15, as he made his escape into Maryland.
Another interesting artifact would be the Sharps 4-barrel pistol carried by John Surratt. I've never heard anything about that pistol either. Surratt probably carried it as he made his escape to Canada and Europe. That would be much harder to trace unless Surratt ever mentioned it.

Atzerodt put up a revolver by Cooper Firearms Manufacturing for loan of $10. The revolver was admitted as evidence at the conspiracy trial but there is no record of what happened to it afterwards. It was not in the box of weapons the War Department eventually transferred to the National Park Service.

The only mention I'm aware of regarding Surratt's Sharps pepperbox pistol is Weichmann's testimony he saw Surratt with it at the boarding house. I have a story of a pistol Surratt supposedly auctioned off in Canada to raise some funds but it was a different weapon, a "buggy pistol."

OK, I'll bite - what is a buggy pistol?

(03-23-2018 04:05 PM)L Verge Wrote:  OK, I'll bite - what is a buggy pistol?

I think it's something like this:

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/728...istol-with

Wes is correct. Atzerodt's pistol was collected and logged into evidence and is not in the FOTH collection. All of Powell's clothes were also in evidence and has disappeared into history, along with Booth's diamond stick pin. Numerous spurs were entered into evidence, yet the only one today is the spur bought by Osborne Oldroyd from a neighbor of the Mudd family.

(03-23-2018 04:05 PM)L Verge Wrote:  OK, I'll bite - what is a buggy pistol?

When traveling in a buggy or wagon, the typical single-shot pistol like Booth's Deringer was of little use if confronted by a highwayman. Too inaccurate at the distance from a buggy seat. A rifle would be too unwieldy for the driver to bring to bear on a robber. So the buggy pistol was a sort of in between weapon. It had an enormously long barrel for a pistol (about two feet) but was still small enough it could be brought to bear quickly. The long barrel gave it more accuracy than the common pocket pistol. With the advent of 6-shot revolvers, buggy pistols went out of use.

The attached buggy pistol was supposedly sold by John Surratt in Canada before leaving for Europe.

What remains, if anything, from the stuff that was found in George Atzerodt's room at the Kirkwood House?

a black coat
a pistol, loaded and capped
a bank-book of J. Wilkes Booth showing a credit of $455
a map of Virginia
a handkerchief marked ''Mary R. E. Booth"
another handkerchief marked " F. M." or " F. A." Nelson
another handkerchief with the letter "H" in the corner
an envelope with the frank of the Hon. John Conness
a pair of new gauntlets
a colored handkerchief
three boxes of Colt cartridges
a piece of licorice
a toothbrush
a brass spur
a pair of socks
two collars
a large bowie knife

The Ulke brothers, Henry and Julius, who were boarding at the Petersen House actually took two deathbed images. When viewing the two images, the chair at the head of the bed is moved somewhat; enough to easily see the differences in the photos. The bloody pillow may also have been moved a slight bit. Look for the bedpost above the pillow in each image. The angle is also slightly different. One can google "Ulke Lincoln deathbed photos" and they will come up side by side. The comparison is interesting. While Julius is generally credited with taking the images, it was Henry who continued in the well into 1866 and perhaps beyond. He maintained a studio at 278 Pennsylvania Avenue. The backmark only contains Henry's full name and not that of Julius. I do not know their history but I suspect Julius may have been out of the business by that time.