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New York Times
23-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Gloves Lincoln Wore to Ford's Theater Sell for $1.5 Million at Auction
A pair of leather gloves worn by President Abraham Lincoln to Ford's Theater on the night of his assassination fetched $1.5 million at auction this week, part of a trove of relics from his life and death that a debt-saddled presidential foundation had put on the block. One of two handkerchiefs that Lincoln had with him on that fateful date in American history, April 14, 1865, sold for $826,000, according to Freeman's | Hindman in Chicago, the auction house that handled Wednesday's sale. Like the gloves, which a friend of the Lincolns had framed for display on his dining room wall, the handkerchief was described in an auction catalog as having been potentially stained with the president's blood. And a cufflink-style gold and onyx button with the letter 'L' on it, which a doctor removed to check for Lincoln's pulse as he lay on his deathbed, went for $445,000. The auction of the items from the Lincoln Presidential Foundation, which was conducted in person, online and by phone, raised nearly $7.9 million, the auctioneers said. The total included a 28 percent buyer's premium, which auction houses tack onto the hammer price to help cover expenses from sales. The buyers were not identified by the auction house, which said that the proceeds had nearly doubled pre-sale estimates for the collection. But the piecemeal sale of the artifacts, known as Lincolnania, did not escape controversy, drawing criticism from a prominent collector who said that she had sold them to the foundation so that they could be displayed publicly. The foundation, the nonprofit that put the 144 items up for sale, said in a statement on Wednesday that the auction's proceeds would significantly help retire loan debt that it has been carrying since 2007. The group used the money from a loan to help buy a $25 million trove of Lincoln artifacts from the collector, Louise Taper, 90 percent of which were still in its possession after the auction, the foundation said. 'As a national nonprofit, this marks a significant step forward for our organization and its future philanthropic and educational mission,' Erin Carlson Mast, the foundation's president and chief executive, said in the statement. The foundation, which was created in 2000, did not say how much of the loan had been repaid. In 2018, the organization made headlines when it created a GoFundMe page, saying that it had privately raised $15 million to help it keep the $25 million collection but needed to come up with the remainder of the money in 20 months. That appeal raised $35,000, according to the group's GoFundMe page. The foundation had acquired the artifacts from Ms. Taper, a philanthropist and collector, for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Ill. The museum opened in 2005 in the city where Lincoln practiced law and lived while he was in the Illinois Legislature and briefly in Congress. Ms. Taper did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday, but she told the Chicago television station WBEZ this week in an email that she had never intended for the collection that she had painstakingly curated to be 'dispersed to the wind.' 'I am appalled,' Ms. Taper told the station. The auction also featured a War Department reward poster offering $30,000 for information leading to the capture of John Wilkes Booth, the man who assassinated Lincoln. It sold for $762,500. A ticket stub from the April 14, 1865, production of 'Our American Cousin' at Ford's Theater, during which Lincoln was assassinated, fetched $381,500. In 2023, two tickets from that performance sold for $262,500. Not all of the sought-after artifacts were intertwined with Lincoln's assassination. A first printing of Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address from 1865 sold for $165,600, and an 1824 book that was twice signed by Lincoln and believed to be one of the earliest surviving examples of his handwriting went for $521,200.
Fox News
22-05-2025
- Fox News
Abraham Lincoln's possessions sell for millions as bloodstained gloves top auction
An auction of the personal belongings of President Abraham Lincoln featured one rare item that caught the attention of many. A pair of gloves that were in Lincoln's pocket at Ford's Theatre the night he was shot drew in the largest bid, The Associated Press reported. The bloodstained gloves are made out of leather and went for $1.52 million, including a buyer's premium fee. Of the 144 items up for auction by Freeman's/Hindman in Chicago, 136 were sold. The auction was held to fund payments on a loan from 20 years ago that was taken out by the Lincoln Presidential Foundation. Another item that was found in Lincoln's possession the night of his assassination was a handkerchief — which sold for $826,000. Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth on the night of April 14, 1865, while attending the play, "Our American Cousin." Also included in the auction was a "wanted" poster showing the three suspects in the assassination, including Wilkes Booth. The item sold for $762,500. A notebook showcasing Lincoln's handwriting from 1824 went for $521,200. It's reportedly the earliest known sample of his handwriting, according to AP. The artifacts came apart from the foundation's 1,540-item assemblage purchased in 2007 from Louise Taper for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, AP reported. In total, the auction raised $7.9 million, including the 28% buyers' premium on each sale.
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Blood-stained gloves from one of the most infamous moments in US history sell for $1.52 MILLION
Abraham Lincoln's blood-stained leather gloves - carried in his pocket the night he was assassinated - fetched a staggering $1.52 million at auction Wednesday, as a trove of historical artifacts was sold off to pay down an $8 million debt. The gloves were the star attraction among 144 rare Lincoln-related items that hit the block at Freeman's/Hindman Auction House in Chicago. A total of 136 pieces were sold, raising a whopping $7.9 million - though that figure includes steep buyers' premiums of around 28 percent, tacked on to cover auction house fees. The sale was the dramatic result of a two-decade-old financial mess involving the Lincoln Presidential Foundation. Back in 2007, the foundation borrowed big to buy a 1,540-piece collection from California collector Louise Taper. The items were meant to boost the appeal of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois, which had opened just two years earlier. Intended to remain in public hands forever, the collection instead became a casualty of slow fundraising, financial strain and an interagency feud, the Associated Press reported. President Abraham Lincoln Over the years, the foundation sold off non-Lincoln pieces and even threatened to part with more prized items in order to keep the museum afloat. In addition to Lincoln's infamous blood-stained leather gloves, other big-ticket sales Wednesday included one of two handkerchiefs Lincoln had on him the night he was shot, April 14, 1865. The prized handkerchief sold for an unbelievable sum of $826,000. A 'Wanted' poster featuring assassination conspirators, including John Wilkes Booth, was also put up for sale, pulling in $762,500 - a figure which shocked auctioneers as it sold far above its top estimate of $120,000. Another item auctioned off included the earliest known example of Lincoln's handwriting, scribbled in an 1824 notebook and sold for $521,200. However, one controversial item was notably absent from the auction: Lincoln's stovepipe hat which was once appraised at $6 million and touted as the crown jewel of the Taper collection. In 2012, a Chicago Sun-Times investigation cast doubt on the iconic historical piece's authenticity, which was said to have been gifted to the 16th President by a southern Illinois supporter. Years later, a 2019 study confirmed the Sun-Time hypothesis suggesting that no proof exists that the hat ever belonged to Lincoln. The Lincoln Presidential Foundation did not immediately respond to email messages seeking comment.
CTV News
21-05-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Lincoln's blood-stained gloves from the night of his assassination among 144 artifacts on auction
A pair of blood-stained gloves that Abraham Lincoln had when he was assassinated at Freeman's | Hindman in West Loop, Chicago, May 15, 2025. (Pat Nabong/Chicago Sun-Times via AP) SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Treasured artifacts associated with U.S. President Abraham Lincoln were on the auction block Wednesday, separated from a collection that was intended to be available for public display forever but wound up in the middle of an interagency feud amid a lingering US$8 million debt. The blood-stained leather gloves that were in Lincoln's pocket the night he was assassinated were among the 144 items up for bid, 136 of which sold. They were auctioned to pay off the remainder of a two-decade-old loan that the Lincoln Presidential Foundation used to buy a one-of-a-kind cluster of Lincoln artifacts from a California collector. The auction at Freeman's/Hindman in Chicago raised $7.9 million, but that includes buyers' premiums of roughly 28% tacked onto each sale to cover the auction house's administrative costs. Lincoln Artifacts A piece of Abraham Lincoln's coat, which he wore when he was assassinated at Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865, is framed at Freeman's | Hindman in West Loop, Chicago, May 15, 2025. (Pat Nabong/Chicago Sun-Times via AP) (Pat Nabong/AP) The gloves were the top-selling items, bringing in $1.52 million including the premium. One of two handkerchiefs Lincoln had with him April 14, 1865, the night he was shot, went for $826,000. A 'Wanted' poster featuring photos of three suspects in the assassination conspiracy, led by John Wilkes Booth, sold for $762,500, far higher than the top estimated price of $120,000. And the earliest known sample of the 16th president's handwriting, from a notebook in 1824, fetched $521,200. Phone and email messages seeking comment were left for the foundation. Its website said proceeds from the auction would be put toward retiring the debt and 'any excess funds will go toward our continued care and display of our extensive collection.' The foundation purchased a 1,540-item assemblage in 2007 from Louise Taper for the fledgling Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, which opened in 2005 in the city where he established a law practice and lived while serving in the Illinois Legislature and briefly in Congress. Lincoln Artifacts The "Bass-Ackwards" Manuscript, Lincoln's Frontier Ribaldry, is on display at Freeman's | Hindman in West Loop, Chicago, May 15, 2025. (Pat Nabong/Chicago Sun-Times via AP) (Pat Nabong/AP) The artifacts were supposed to give the library and museum, which was rich in Lincoln-related manuscripts, a boost in what it lacked — the meaty kind of curios that draw tourists. But fundraising was slow, forcing the sale of non-Lincoln portions of the collection and threats by the foundation to sell more before it finally extended the loan. In 2012 a controversy arose over what had been the crown jewel of the group — a stovepipe hat, appraised at $6 million, that Lincoln was said to have given as a gift to a southern Illinois supporter. That story came under intense scrutiny, as reported by the Chicago Sun-Times, resulting in a 2019 study that found there was no evidence the hat belonged to Lincoln. It was not part of Wednesday's auction. John O'connor, The Associated Press
The Independent
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Lincoln's blood-stained gloves from the night of his assassination among 144 artifacts on auction
Treasured artifacts associated with President Abraham Lincoln were on the auction block Wednesday, separated from a collection that was intended to be available for public display forever but wound up in the middle of an interagency feud amid a lingering $8 million debt. The blood-stained leather gloves that were in Lincoln's pocket the night he was assassinated were among the 144 items up for bid, 136 of which sold. They were auctioned to pay off the remainder of a two-decade-old loan that the Lincoln Presidential Foundation used to buy a one-of-a-kind cluster of Lincoln artifacts from a California collector. The auction at Freeman's/Hindman in Chicago raised $7.9 million, but that includes buyers' premiums of roughly 28% tacked onto each sale to cover the auction house's administrative costs. The gloves were the top-selling items, bringing in $1.52 million including the premium. One of two handkerchiefs Lincoln had with him April 14, 1865, the night he was shot, went for $826,000. A 'Wanted' poster featuring photos of three suspects in the assassination conspiracy, led by John Wilkes Booth, sold for $762,500, far higher than the top estimated price of $120,000. And the earliest known sample of the 16th president's handwriting, from a notebook in 1824, fetched $521,200. Phone and email messages seeking comment were left for the foundation. Its website said proceeds from the auction would be put toward retiring the debt and 'any excess funds will go toward our continued care and display of our extensive collection.' The foundation purchased a 1,540-item assemblage in 2007 from Louise Taper for the fledgling Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, which opened in 2005 in the city where he established a law practice and lived while serving in the Illinois Legislature and briefly in Congress. The artifacts were supposed to give the library and museum, which was rich in Lincoln-related manuscripts, a boost in what it lacked — the meaty kind of curios that draw tourists. But fundraising was slow, forcing the sale of non-Lincoln portions of the collection and threats by the foundation to sell more before it finally extended the loan. In 2012 a controversy arose over what had been the crown jewel of the group — a stovepipe hat, appraised at $6 million, that Lincoln was said to have given as a gift to a southern Illinois supporter. That story came under intense scrutiny, as reported by the Chicago Sun-Times, resulting in a 2019 study that found there was no evidence the hat belonged to Lincoln. It was not part of Wednesday's auction.
