Trivial Trivia - taking trivia to new levels

[L Verge]

Thanks Joe and Roger for the answer. I had posed the question after reading a piece on Brooks Brothers during the Civil War and reference was made to Donn's granddaughter offering the clothes to a variety of museums and historical societies in the 1930s for $50,000. There were no takers. The article then skips to the granddaughter renewing her offer in 1968 in the January 3 issue of The New York Times and Congressman Schwengle securing a donation from a trucking association to purchase it. No mention was made, however, of the cost to acquire the coat.

Schwengle was the founder and president of the U.S. Capitol Historical Society. I met him several times before his death in the 1990s, and I cannot imagine that anyone would say no to the Congressman when he was twisting one's arm. Quite a forceful gentleman. I believe that there is a small college in Iowa that inherited his Lincoln collection.