The Fathers and Saviors of Our Country: A Presidential Sale

1) Ferrotype campaign token with stickpin, ca 1864. Diam. 19 mm. DeWitt AL-1864-104.

2) Ferrotype campaign token repurposed as a mourning badge with portraits of Lincoln on one side and Johnson on the other; black mourning bow with additional ribbon attached, ca 1864. Diam. 19 mm. Overall height 41 mm. DeWitt AL-1864-101

3) Gem albumen campaign badge repurposed as a mourning badge with black ribbon attached, ca 1864. Overall, 89 x 25 mm. DeWitt AL-1864-87.

4) Ferrotype badge, ca 1864-65. 28 x 20 mm.

5) Ferrotype campaign badge repurposed as a mourning badge with a gold paper star sewn into the American flag ribbon and a black piece of fabric, ca 1864-65. Overall, 70 x 19 mm.

The United States was a nation already deep in the throes of grief on 14 April 1865, with the recently concluded Civil War having claimed the lives of nearly 700,000 men over the course of four short years. The assassination of Abraham Lincoln brought a swift and brutal end to any relief the country may have been feeling, and Americans across the country made use of any available images or mementos they had of the murdered president to display their grief to the world. With demand far outpacing supply and means, many repurposed campaign badges and other small items, often doing little more than adding a black ribbon or a piece of cloth.