Fascinating Relics From The Henry Ford Museum, II

Without a doubt my favorite relic housed in The Henry Ford Museum is the Abraham Lincoln Death Chair. The rocking chair in which President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865, is a Renaissance Revival-style chair, upholstered in red fabric, and was placed in Lincoln's theater box at Ford's Theatre for his comfort during the play Our American Cousin. After the assassination, the chair was used as evidence in the trial of the conspirators. In 1929, Henry Ford acquired the chair for his museum, recognizing its historical significance.

I know what you are wondering: are those stains on the chair from Lincoln's blood, or was he just dirty?  While analysis has confirmed that two spots on the chair, one on the back and one on the front, tested positive for blood, The Henry Ford Museum has determined that the large, darker stain on the back is primarily hair oil. This oil was commonly used in men's hairstyles at the time and would have been absorbed into the fabric as people sat in the chair.  Lincoln was a greaser.