Lincoln’s Legacy: Historic Americana from the Life of Abraham Lincoln

1 p.; 4 1/4 x 5 3/4 in. (108 x 146 mm), accomplished in manuscript; creasing from old folds; backed with japanese tissue.

AN ORDER AUTHORIZING UNDERTAKER PETER RELYEA TO MOVE THE REMAINS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN, noted as having "Died of Pistol Shot Wound."

President Lincoln's funeral tour made stops in 13 cities for public services. Before the service and procession through Manhattan, New York undertaker Peter Relyea was tasked with designing the catafalque that would carry the president's body. It was unveiled on April 25, the day after he was authorized to move Lincoln's body. It was 14 feet long by 7 feet wide, decorated with patriotic motifs, three American flags, and drawn by a team of sixteen horses. As the procession moved toward New York's City Hall, it was seen by nearly half a million spectators.

Historian Michael Kauffman describes, "The New York obsequies would be the most elaborate yet...It was the creation of Peter Relyea, a forty-nine-year-old undertaker who had been placed in charge of arrangements with only three days' notice. He had not slept since then, nor had the sixty employees working under him..." (American Brutus, p. 302).

Provenance:

Louise Taper, Beverly Hills, California