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Abraham Lincoln's Top Hat

National Museum of American History

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Object Details

Lincoln, Abraham
Davis, J. Y.
Description
At six feet four inches tall, Lincoln towered over most of his contemporaries. He chose to stand out even more by wearing high top hats. He acquired this hat from J. Y. Davis, a Washington hat maker. Lincoln had the black silk mourning band added in remembrance of his son Willie. No one knows when he obtained the hat, or how often he wore it. The last time he put it on was to go to Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865.
After Lincoln’s assassination, the War Department preserved his hat and other material left at Ford’s Theatre. With permission from Mary Lincoln, the department gave the hat to the Patent Office, which, in 1867, transferred it to the Smithsonian Institution. Joseph Henry, the Secretary of the Smithsonian, ordered his staff not to exhibit the hat “under any circumstance, and not to mention the matter to any one, on account of there being so much excitement at the time.” It was immediately placed in a basement storage room.
The American public did not see the hat again until 1893, when the Smithsonian lent it to an exhibition hosted by the Lincoln Memorial Association. Today it is one of the Institution’s most treasured objects.
Transfer from the War Department with permission from Mary Lincoln, 1867
mid 19th century
ID Number
PL.9321
accession number
38912
catalog number
9321
Object Name
top hat
Object Type
Hats
Physical Description
silk (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 7 in x 10 3/8 in x 12 in; 17.78 cm x 26.35504 cm x 30.48 cm
place made
United States: District of Columbia, Washington
worn at
United States: District of Columbia, Ford's Theater
Related Publication
Kendrick, Kathleen M. and Peter C. Liebhold. Smithsonian Treasures of American History
Rubenstein, Harry R.. Abraham Lincoln: An Extraordinary Life
National Museum of American History. Treasures of American History online exhibition
Related Web Publication
http://americanhistory.si.edu/treasures
See more items in
Political and Military History: Political History, Presidential History Collection
National Treasures exhibit
Clothing & Accessories
Government, Politics, and Reform
Exhibition
American Presidency
Exhibition Location
National Museum of American History
National Museum of American History
subject
Assassination
Presidents
related event
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
Record ID
nmah_1199660
Metadata Usage (text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746aa-76de-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Related Content

  • Abraham Lincoln

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