Object Details

user

Lincoln, Abraham

maker

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

Credit Line

War Department

date made

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 exhibition website

Related Web Publication

https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/treasures-american-history

See more items in

Political History: Political History, Presidential History Collection

Government, Politics, and Reform

Clothing & Accessories

National Treasures exhibit

Exhibition

American Presidency

Exhibition Location

National Museum of American History

Data Source

National Museum of American History

referenced

Assassination

used

Presidents

related event

Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

Metadata Usage

CC0

GUID (Link to Original Record)

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746aa-76de-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record ID

nmah_1199660