A collection of rare artefacts associated with 16th US President Abraham Lincoln—including a pair of blood-stained leather gloves discovered in his pocket the night he was assassinated—were sold at an auction this week.
The auction featured 144 objects, 136 of which were sold to pay off the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Foundation’s $8 million debt from 2007. The Foundation's website added that “any excess funds will go toward our continued care and display of our extensive collection”.
This debt had been incurred for a loan that had funded the purchase of a private collection from Californian philanthropist Louise Taper, initially intended for permanent display at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois.
At a sale price of $1.52 million, including the buyer’s premium, the gloves were the highest-valued item. Lincoln was also believed to have had a handkerchief on the night of his murder, which sold for $826,000 at the auction.
According to auction house reports, the entire sale racked in well over $7.9 million.
Historians, however, see this as a cultural loss. Their concern is that a large number of these antiques will be lost to private ownership, perhaps even for generations.
Critics argue that the auction illustrates the susceptibility of public organisations—that rely on funding—to the private sector. Individual collectors currently control the public’s access to these valuable pieces. The sale, although financially necessary for the Foundation, has sparked a broader debate about how the country preserves—and funds—its most valuable historical artefacts.
The controversy also sheds light on criticism of the collection’s most disputed item that had been sold years ago—a stovepipe hat once attributed to Lincoln and valued at $6 million. In 2019, however, a report commissioned by the state of Illinois stated that they found no conclusive evidence to prove that the hat belonged to Lincoln.
