LINCOLN'S BLOOD-STAINED CLOTHES PACKED DURING RENOVATION

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Lincoln's Bloodstained Clothes Packed Up for Storage During Ford's Theatre Renovation

Source: WaPo (9-7-07)

The square-toed, goatskin boots that Abraham Lincoln had on that night at Ford's Theatre were worn down at the heels.

His long, black frock coat was unadorned. Its buttons were of plain gray metal.

And most of what he wore as he sat in the private box on Good Friday of 1865 comes down to us still stained with his blood.

Yesterday, under police escort, the National Park Service transported the assassinated president's clothing and other items from the Ford's Theatre museum to a Park Service storage center in Maryland, where they will remain while the theater undergoes an 18-month renovation.

But before the items went onto the shelves -- and out of public view for a year and a half -- curators provided an up-close glimpse of garments linked to one of the most tragic moments in American history.

PIE