Textile: Framed relics from Lincoln assassination
1865 (Date manufactured/created)
Framed collection of relics pertaining to President Abraham Lincoln's assassination at Ford's Theatre in 1865. These artifacts include a piece of Lincoln's black silk cravat or stock, a wallpaper fragment from Lincoln's theater box, and piece of white embroidery on a sheer material. Each item is captioned in hand-writing on the matboard. The black silk is captioned as a piece of Lincoln's neckerchief, but a neckerchief would be far too informal to wear at the theater. Almost certainly the silk was either from a cravat or a stock, which is a stiffened, separate collar band, secured at the back with a small buckle, upon which black or cream silk is mounted, usually pleated horizontally, along with an artfully knotted bow at the center front. (Similar in concept to a ready-made bowtie.) The lower textile is captioned as a piece of the lace curtain draped against Lincoln's theater box, but it is not like other examples of the lace curtain fragments from Ford's Theater. It is embroidery, not lace, and does not seem to be the type of material that would have been used for curtains, in part because the embroidery appears to have been worked by hand, unlike extant examples of the machine-woven lace curtain fragments. The date when this was put together is unknown. It may have been in the months after the assassination, though perhaps not until years later. The simple oak frame suggests a later date, possibly circa 1890, just before it was given to the Fairfield County Historical Society by James W. Scully, in 1891. Frame dimensions are 9" H x 7" W.
According to our research with an expert on Lincoln assassination artifacts, the piece of the now-faded black silk neckerchief is the only one known; apparently historians have information about everything else Lincoln wore except his neckerchief or cravat. There are extant fragments of clothing worn by Lincoln but not the neckerchief. However, images depict him wearing a black silk cravat or stock. The wallpaper fragment is faded from the original rich red color. The white textile is now extremely yellowed. The acidic framing is causing this damage, as well as long exposure to light for a long period, as it was displayed for many decades.
James W. Scully, the donor, was a Bridgeport, Conn., native, who served in the 14th Conn. Regiment during the Civil War. He was one among a number of Civil War soldiers and widows who, after the war, donated items to the Fairfield County Historical Society. The Society was a predecessor to the Barnum Institute of Science and History, merging with the Bridgeport Scientific Society in 1893 when the Institute building, a legacy gift of P. T. Barnum, was opened. Scully's gift was made before the opening of the building.
According to our research with an expert on Lincoln assassination artifacts, the piece of the now-faded black silk neckerchief is the only one known; apparently historians have information about everything else Lincoln wore except his neckerchief or cravat. There are extant fragments of clothing worn by Lincoln but not the neckerchief. However, images depict him wearing a black silk cravat or stock. The wallpaper fragment is faded from the original rich red color. The white textile is now extremely yellowed. The acidic framing is causing this damage, as well as long exposure to light for a long period, as it was displayed for many decades.
James W. Scully, the donor, was a Bridgeport, Conn., native, who served in the 14th Conn. Regiment during the Civil War. He was one among a number of Civil War soldiers and widows who, after the war, donated items to the Fairfield County Historical Society. The Society was a predecessor to the Barnum Institute of Science and History, merging with the Bridgeport Scientific Society in 1893 when the Institute building, a legacy gift of P. T. Barnum, was opened. Scully's gift was made before the opening of the building.
Gift of James K. Scully
1891.024.001