Who is this lady?

[Steve Whitlock]

(06-29-2021 06:14 PM)Anita Wrote:  Hi Steve and Roger. I've been following this discussion.

The auction houses (a Google search turned up 11 different ones) claim that Charles K. Tuckerman obtained a piece of sheet stained with Lincoln's blood, from Lincoln's deathbed at the Petersen House. All the smaller pieces of it sold by these auctions rely on the same letter written by Mary Benjamin for provenance.

"This rare relic was obtained by Charles K. Tuckerman (1821-1896), an author, politician, and the first American Minister to Greece, who was in Washington at the time of Lincoln's assassination. The original, larger mounted section of cloth, found in Tuckerman's papers, bore on the paper mount his initialed provenance: "Relic from the death bed of Abraham Lincoln, stained with his blood. Taken from his death chamber. C. K. T.". This smaller piece of the sheet measures approximately 5/8" x 1" and is contained within a plastic sleeve. A color copy of the original sheet and Tuckerman's provenance is included in the lot. Also included is a copy of a letter by autograph expert and dealer Mary Benjamin on Walter R. Benjamin letterhead, 1p. 4to., New York, June 2, 1961 to Norm Flayderman Antique Firearms in which Benjamin states: "...It is a piece of the linen sheet taken from Lincoln's deathbed in the Peterson House [across the street from Ford's Theater]... It came to me with the Charles K. Tuckerman papers...[Tuckerman was] in Washington at the time of Lincoln's death...it was included in an album of his letters, bearing his authentication...I had no reason to question or doubt it in any way..." An important relic, with excellent provenance - a must-have for any Lincoln collector.
http://hcaauctions.com/lot-10827.aspx

Questions that need answers.

1. Mary Benjamin never says how the Tuckerman album and letters came to her nor in any of the auctions is there an album or proof that such an album belonged to Charles K. Tuckerman. I have searched for such an album or other proof that the album page with C.K.T. initials belong to Tuckerman. I haven't turned up anything. Steve maybe you can search for it.

2. Mary Benjamin writes Tuckerman was in Washington the day of the assassination. Maybe this can be be verified.

3. Tuckerman was a historian and it just seems odd that if he had been in Washington the night of the assassination, why didn't he mention it in his book, "Personal Recollections of Notable People at Home and Abroad" (published in 1895 in two volumes by Dodd Mead) . Volume I has Chapters on Lincoln and Seward and he doesn't mention being there. He writes he saw Lincoln is his coffin in New York City Hall. Read it here. https://books.google.com/books?id=YaMMAA...ln&f=false

4. It also seems odd that Tuckerman didn't leave any correspondence or interviews about his experience in Washington the day of the assassination or mention how he came to have the relic. He was a very public figure.

Steve you are skilled A+ searcher. Hope this helps.

Anita,

I'm unable to post the provenance letter written by Charles Keating Tuckerman, with his C.K.T. initials, plus another sample of his initials and signature to verify that it was, in fact, Charles who wrote the note for provenance. There is a false signature attributed to Mr. Tuckerman in a letter written to Abraham Lincoln, where the person who wrote the letter signed "for C. K. Tuckerman" written by P.S. Forbes. It seems the images are over 500Kb, and the system won't allow that.

At any rate I believe it was Charles K. Tuckerman who wrote the provenance letter, and I've noticed in some of the auction house descriptions they say the relic was "obtained" by Charles K. Tuckerman. That doesn't mean he cut it himself. Had he done so I would have expected he should have written in his book that he raced from Lincoln's deathbed to console Edwin Booth on 15 Apr 1865, which he did not. Both men were in NYC, where C. K. Tuckerman lived.

If you want to see the items I mentioned for yourself please contact me at ctn59880@centurytel.net and I can attach them to an email. I got the initials and autograph from the Tuckerman collection.