April 11-13, 2023 Firearms and Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/13/2023
A piece of the burgundy and rose color leaf and flower pattern wallpaper on the walls of Lincoln’s box the night he was shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theatre. From the well-known, extensive collection of Dr. John K. Lattimer. Measuring roughly 6 - 1/2" x 2 - 3/4” and mounted on an album page with period ink inscription at bottom: “Piece of the papering of the Presidents Box in Ford’s Theatre / where Lincoln was assassinated- torn off by myself / after the occurrence April 15th 1865.” A pencil inscription along the top edge of the page identifies the relic hunter: “Wallpaper removed by / William Ellis Walker.” This piece matches other known examples preserved in public institutions, including the Maryland Center for History and Culture, who cite a contemporary reference to the crowds descending on the area immediately after the assassination seeking a memento of the martyred president: “[The streets] were suddenly crowded with people; men, women, children, wandering aimlessly towards Ford’s Theatre...They tore wallpaper and gilt moldings from Lincoln’s theatre box, begged locks of hair from the departing surgeons, and vied for fragments of the stained deathbed linens..." CONDITION: Excellent. Unframed.
Paperwork
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