X-Ray of the Chair in Which Abraham Lincoln Was Shot at Fords Theatre, Imaged 1999

THF136253 / X-Ray of the Chair in Which Abraham Lincoln Was Shot at Fords Theatre, Imaged 1999
01

Artifact Overview

In 1999, The Henry Ford carefully assessed and treated its Lincoln rocker. X-Ray photography helped conservators locate seat springs and identify the grid and condition of the seat's lashing twines. Conservators then compressed and secured some of the springs to alleviate tension on the fragile upholstery fabric. This preservation effort ensured that visitors can view this historic American icon for years to come.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Radiograph

Date Made

01 February 1999

Subject Date

01 February 1999

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Object ID

EI.288.20

Color

Black-and-white (Colors)

Dimensions

Height: 17 in
Width: 14 in

02

Related Artifacts

  • {x.objectKey}-image
    Artifact

    Rocking Chair Used by Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theater the Night of His Assassination, April 14, 1865

    President Abraham Lincoln was sitting in this rocking chair during a production of Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., when he was assassinated on April 14, 1865. Henry Ford purchased the chair in 1929 for the Museum, where it remains one of the most revered objects associated with the "man who saved the Union."
03

Related Content

  • THF121596 "Abraham Lincoln by Daniel Chester French, Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C."
    article

    Remembering Lincoln

      By the first decade of the 20th century, memories of the real President Abraham Lincoln had faded. A new generation of Americans came of age who had only heard the stories and the legends, and transformed Lincoln the real man into Lincoln the hero.
    • The rocking chair during unpacking at the Logan County Courthouse, 1929.
      article

      The Lincoln Rocker

        The event that transformed President Abraham Lincoln into an American icon, equal to Washington and Jefferson, was his assassination on April 14, 1865. It took longer for the chair he was sitting in that night to emerge as a symbol of his greatness.