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The Most Valuable Brooks Brothers Coat of All Time:
April 16, 1865. On the last night of his life -- a damp, foggy evening -- Abraham Lincoln dressed for the theatre. In addition to a black suit and kid gloves, he wore a wood greatcoat that had been custom made by Brooks Brothers for his second inauguration. The wood was reportedly finer than cashmere. Stitched into the coat's lining was a unique design: a spread eagle and the words "One Country, One Destiny."
A Night At Ford's Theatre:
From their box at Ford's Theatre, the Lincolns watched the comedy "Our American Cousin." At approximately 10:15pm, John Wilkes Booth entered the theatre box and drew his derringer. With a single lead ball, he shot Lincoln in the back of the head. The bullet lodged seven inches into the president's brain. Nine hours later, at 7:22am, Abraham Lincoln was dead. His coat still bears the spattered bloodstains from that night.
The Road to the National Park Service:
After her husband's death, Mary Todd Lincoln gave the greatcoat and suit to Alphonso Donn, a White House doorkeeper favored by the Lincolns. Numerous people -- including PT Barnum -- tried to buy them. Donn refused all offers, but did lend the clothing to sculptor Vinnie Ream, who used them as references for the Lincoln statue that resides in the US Capitol.
In 1968, the American Trucking Association Foundation donated $25,000 to the United States Capitol Historical Society to purchase the clothing from Donn's granddaughter for the National Park Service.
The greatcoat arrived with swatches of material cut from the left sleeve and collar -- evidence of mementos kept from the assassination.
Caring for Lincoln's Coat:
Ford's Theatre and the National Park Service are taking strong measures to preserve Lincoln's coats for generations to come. A specialty artifact mount cradles the coat to prevent tearing. Environmental controls protect against 99 percent of ultraviolet damage and keep the case humidity at a steady level. Even with these precautions, humidity, light, and gravity are the enemies of textiles. As a result, the original is only on display a few times a year. A replica is used when the original is in storage at a climate-controlled National Park Service site. |