Surratt Courier

[Houmes]

(02-16-2014 07:33 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Society members will soon be receiving their March issue of Surratt Courier (hopefully before the conference). The feature article is by our own Reignette Chilton of this forum, who shares her wealth of knowledge about the history of Mr. Lincoln's greatcoat - one of the iconic textiles of American history.

I was rummaging through some files and found a letter dated March 20, 1977 from Harold L. Peterson, Jr. (1922-1978), former Chief Curator of the National Park Service, with mention of the Lincoln coat:

"...I helped with the cleaning and treatment of it when we received it. It consists of a beautiful overcoat from Brooks Brothers quilted with patriotic designs on the lining. This had some pieces cut out of it by souvenir hunters. It is the coat he wore for his second inaugural speech. There is also the suit coat, waistcoat and breeches. There were blood stains on the collar which we did not want to remove since they were historical evidence but the suit was dirty, stained with the automatic voiding that occurs with a traumatic wound and just general dirt. Mrs. Lincoln had given the clothing to a doorkeeper at the White House. We wanted to get rid of the excremental material because of its damaging effect on the fabric and also the dirt of the ages. It was an interesting and complicated chemical problem. Incidentally, in the waistcoat pockets were tiny fragments of hard red and green candy which Lincoln is known to have enjoyed but also there was a fine brownish powder which appeared to be snuff, and Lincoln is supposed to have eschewed tobacco in all forms. We know that the suit was worn by a model for a sculptor much to Mrs. Lincoln's disgust since she did not approve of the woman who did the sculpting..."

The "woman sculptor" was undoubtedly Vinnie Ream.

A generous piece of the Lincoln coat is displayed at the Harlan-Lincoln House on the campus of Iowa Wesleyan College in Mount Pleasant, IA. Judge Harlan was the father-in-law of Robert Todd Lincoln.

[L Verge]

Thank you, Blaine, for supplying the answer to a question that I have had for decades about the condition of the suit - but was too ladylike to ask.

[RJNorton]

Kudos to Wes Harris, Joan Chaconas, and John Stanton for their articles in the April Surratt Courier. Lots of information in these articles - much of it new to me.

[RJNorton]

Kudos to Laurie on her article about Edward R. Squibb, M.D. in the current Surratt Courier. Also, kudos to Richard Sloan for his article about Joseph Lynch, etc. Both articles are filled with information and enjoyable to read.

[Rsmyth]

I agree Roger. I want to hear more stories like this from Richard!

[L Verge]

I would love to have Richard share some of his experiences while he was doing his wonderful Lincoln Log. He really was one of the movers and shakers in the early days of our Boothies. His publication was what brought many of us together in the days before internet. Richard is also a co-founder of the Lincoln Group of New York, if I'm not mistaken.

I hate to admit it, but our group of original Boothies is mainly senior citizens now. While I am constantly preaching about getting the young interested in our topic, it's important to not forget to tap the memories and years of experience (50+) held by this group. We were trained at the knees of some of the best "old guys" there were.

[Gene C]

Thanks Richard for the article in this months Courier. You answered a lot of questions I have had for a number of years. Richard addresses some of the questions regarding the missing pages of the Booth diary that was the foundation of the movie & book "The Lincoln Conspiracy" I was so excited when that book came out....,then I read it. Excitement turned into major disappointment.

Now we know some more of.... "the rest of the story".

[L Verge]

Of course, the movie came out before the book was written, but many of you probably don't know that the "world premiere" (aka "screening") took place in Waldorf, MD, the busiest metropolis with a movie theater near both the Surratt House and the Dr. Mudd House. The audience was composed of volunteers from both of those sites. You should have heard the sighs of disgust, groans, and laughter that emanated inside the theater while the film was running.

Once it was over, the major "review" was that the film should be burned and never shown again. Instead, the company decided to perpetuate its mistakes by writing the accompanying book.

[Gene C]

Did you behave yourself Laurie at the premier?

[L Verge]

What do you think, Gene?

[Wesley Harris]

Richard needs a monthly column!

[Gene C]

(05-03-2014 07:21 PM)L Verge Wrote:  What do you think, Gene?

You are a class act. If you had sighed, groaned or laughed, you did it with style.

[L Verge]

Bless you, my child!

As for Richard, if you can ever get your hands on a set of his Lincoln Log publications from the 1970s and early-80s, grab them.

[LincolnMan]

You're up late Laurie. What time do you usually hit the hay?

[L Verge]

Work days - 10 pm. Weekends - 11-midnight. I must admit to a bit of TV addiction that tears me away from the computer at certain times: Monday is Bones night; Tuesday is NCIS; Wednesday is Criminal Minds; Thursday is Big Bang Theory and The Millers; and Friday is Unforgettable and Hawaii Five-O. Do you see a pattern here (except for Thursday)? I seldom watch TV on the weekends. That's reading time.