A new report by Illinois' state historian raises serious questions about the authenticity of a stovepipe hat said to have belonged to Abraham Lincoln. The hat was once appraised at $6.5 million. (WBEZ)
The saga, which has evolved into one of the state’s great historic whodunnits, involved luminaries like former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar, the widow of former Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert and the spouse of convicted political influence peddler William Cellini, who all played a role in moving ahead with the purchase.
Now deceased, Hickey left his job in government in 1984 after questions arose about the propriety of him being in control of state-owned Lincoln memorabilia while at the same time acquiring similar items for his own personal collection – a practice Wheeler described in his report as “widely recognized today as unethical.”
“When his attention turned to the stovepipe hat, the centerpiece of the acquisition, Dr. Schwartz was shocked to learn its provenance was much more tenuous than he previously believed,” Wheeler wrote. Over the years, the foundation took steps to have the hat secretly swabbed by the FBI for possible Lincoln DNA, which yielded no positive results. And the foundation sought input from top historians at the Smithsonian Museum and Chicago History Museum, who both concluded not enough evidence existed to support the notion the hat belonged to Lincoln.Fast-forward to August of 2018, when Wheeler was ordered by former museum director Alan Lowe to conduct his own study into the hat.
Wheeler took the extraordinary step to attempt to reach some of Waller’s descendants, who remembered Elbert and Clara Waller. But again, he came up dry. One last area of focus for Wheeler was a 2013 set of talking points produced by the state to “quell any doubts about the stovepipe hat’s provenance.” Wheeler asserted that document contained numerous “untruths,” including the very basic claim about the actual hat size of the hat.
Additionally, the museum claimed in its talking points that the hat bore the imprint of a Springfield hatmaker, but Wheeler said he could find no evidence a “faded floral motif” inside the hat was really the calling card of that hatmaker. He recommends having costume experts specializing in 19th century hats assess the discrepancies involving the size, the absence of a document storage area and the markings on the brim that the museum has presented to thousands of museum visitors as worn areas from Lincoln’s fingerprints.
Wheeler added that the foundation should avoid making future multimillion-dollar transactions with its board members, as was the case with Louise Taper.
Brasil Últimas Notícias, Brasil Manchetes
Similar News:Você também pode ler notícias semelhantes a esta que coletamos de outras fontes de notícias.
Amazon Is Selling Products That Were Scavenged from the Trash, Report FindsThe company updated its policy last week to more explicitly prohibit the sale of items taken from the trash
Consulte Mais informação »
NFL could try to simplify coin toss: reportThe NFL's competition committee is expected to discuss how to simplify what...
Consulte Mais informação »
Trump Believes Ukraine Interfered with 2016 Election Because Vladimir Putin Told Him So: ReportTrump believes Ukraine interfered in 2016 election because Putin told him so: report
Consulte Mais informação »
Turkey's parliament ratifies security accord with Libya - reportTurkey's parliament approved on Saturday a security and military cooperatio...
Consulte Mais informação »
Legionaires founder sexually abused 60 boys, religious order's report saysSexual abuse of minors was rife among superiors of the Legionaires of Christ Cat...
Consulte Mais informação »
Tesco suspends Chinese supplier after prisoner labor reportBritish supermarket giant Tesco suspended a Chinese supplier of Christmas cards ...
Consulte Mais informação »