auction

[ReignetteC]

(04-09-2025 03:54 AM)Steve Wrote:  Reignette, what are your thoughts on the piece of Lincoln's coat taken by Dr. Ezra Abbott at Petersen House?:

https://www.nhhistory.org/object/160822/cloth-fragment

(Note: The NHHS is incorrect in it's description, Sarah M. Brown was Abbott's niece, not his daughter and Abbott was not the first physician to reach Lincoln - he was in Ford's Theatre, apparently in the Family Circle section, and didn't reach the box in time to be one of the physicians who treated him there.)

The description, "An attempt was made to re-move the coat by cutting away at the sleave to searching for wound until discovered in back of his head," fits Dr. Leale's account (of which he produced at least four).

It's definitely not from the black suit on display at Ford's Theatre and held as his assassination suit. It evinces no tears or damage. It is indeed a Lincoln garment as proven by three letters from Mrs. Lincoln. But is it his assassination suit?

The swatch of cloth and button could be from the frock coat in storage at the Chicago History Museum. Once considered an authentic Lincoln assassination relic until Paul Angle labeled it a phony. But is it?