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  EXCEPTIONAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN MOURNING SASH WITH PRINTED RIBBON, 1865

Available: Sold
Frame Size (H x L): 35" x 15"
Flag Size (H x L): 26" x 5.25" as folded
Description....:
This wide black ribbon with white decorative trim was worn to mourn the death of President Abraham Lincoln, shot by John Wilkes Booth on Good Friday, April 14th, 1865, five days following the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Courthouse. Affixed to the sash is a printed Lincoln mourning ribbon with his portrait image and text that reads: "We Loved Him in Life, We Mourn Him in Death. Born Feb. 12, 1809. Died April 15, 1865." Printed in black on white silk, the ribbon is perhaps one of the most commonly encountered styles, yet its presence on this original sash, sewn to it in the period, is an unusual object and an especially beautiful one. I encounter mourning ribbons on occasion, but have never bought an article of this nature with the ribbon put to obvious use upon it.

The sash would have no-doubt been made to be worn by a reverent observer as the funeral train made its way back to Springfield, Illinois, retracing the steps Lincoln had traveled to Washington as the president-elect on his way to his first inauguration. Millions of onlookers lined up to pay their respects along the 1,654-mile procession.

Further Information about Lincoln's Funeral Train:

Lincoln’s funeral train was dubbed “The Lincoln Special.” His portrait was fastened to the front of the engine above the cattle guard. Approximately 300 people accompanied Lincoln’s body on the 1,654-mile journey, including his eldest son Robert, who went as far as Baltimore. Also on the train was a coffin containing the body of Lincoln’s son Willie, who had died in 1862 at the age of 11 of typhoid fever during Lincoln’s second year in office and was being moved in order to be buried alongside his father at the family plot in Springfield.

In 1911, a prairie fire near Minneapolis, Minnesota, destroyed the train car that had so famously carried Lincoln’s body to its final resting place.

Mounting: The sash has been hand-stitched to 100% hemp fabric. The mount was then placed in an excellent gilded molding of the 1840-1870 period, to which a modern, black-painted molding was added that has simulated early surface. Spacers keep the textile away from the glazing, which is U.V. protective glass.

Condition: There is minor to moderate oxidation and soiling in the mouring ribbon, accompanied my moderate breakdown with associated fabric loss. Many of my clients prefer early patriotic textiles such as this to show their age and history of use gracefully.
Collector Level: Advanced Collectors and the Person with Everything
Flag Type:
Star Count:
Earliest Date of Origin: 1865
Latest Date of Origin: 1865
State/Affiliation:
War Association: 1861-1865 Civil War
Price: SOLD
 

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