[LINCOLN'S FUNERAL]. A mourning badge with ferrotype image of Abraham Lincoln, ca. 19 April 1865.

Gem ferrotype image of Lincoln by Anthony Berger, in copper frame; suspended from red, white, and blue ribbon, attached to metal pin-back eagle attachment set against a very fine black cloth ribbon. Image: 1 1/4 x 3/4 in. (31 x 19 mm); overall length: 7 1/2 in. (190 mm).

In the days and weeks following the death of Abraham Lincoln, a cottage industry of mourning badges, ribbons, and other paraphernalia sprang up almost overnight. An American public still reeling from a four-year war which had cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of its fathers, sons, and brothers, now saw its very last casualty in the man who had won the war for the Union.

Provenance:

Louise Taper, Beverly Hills, California

Property from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Foundation