Cloth Fragment
- Object Name:
- Cloth Fragment
- Object ID:
- 1995.646.11
- Date:
- 1865
- Description:
- Cloth fragment. Piece of Abraham Lincoln's black wool coat and button. Framed. Collected by Dr. Ezra W. Abbott of Concord, NH, physician present at the death of Lincoln. Rectangular piece of fabric with attached fabric-covered button, adhered to piece of cardboard. Button is not sewn to fabric; it is pinned in place. Four pieces of red, white, and blue ribbon and four pieces of black ribbon are attached to the cardboard, forming a square grid pattern. Ink inscription on board, above fabric: "TAKEN FRON LINCOLN'S / COAT THE NIGHT OF HIS / ASSASSINATION". Same inscription appears on back of board, except "ASSASSINATION" is spelled "ASSINATION". Typescript paper label adhered to back of cardboard backing (errors included): "A button and piece of the coat worn by / President Lincoln on the night of his / assasination. An attempt was made to re- / move the coat by cutting away at the sleve. to / searching for wound. until discovered in back / his head. Dr. Abbott was one of the six men / who carried him out of the Theater to the / where he died the Dr. with assiswant removed / the outer clothing, and doing s found this button strip of coat he preserved."; followed by ink inscription, "[From Dr. Ezra W. Abbottt, Concord, N.H.]" Also on backboard is a printed NHHS label identifying the donor as Mrs. Sarah M. Brown, Concord, N.H., April 1921.
- Material:
- Textile
Wool - Dimensions:
- H-2.5 W-3 inches
- Provenance:
- Dr. Ezra Abbott (1821-1907) of Concord, NH, was attending Ford's Theater on the night of Lincoln's assassination. He was the first physician to reach Lincoln after the attack and stayed with him until his death the next morning. Dr. Abbott preserved this piece of Lincoln's coat sleeve when the coat was being cut away in search for the wound. Donated in 1921 by Sarah M. Brown of Concord, who was probably Dr. Abbott's daughter.
- Subjects:
- Assassinations, Memento
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