Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

Object Number: 
1946.349
Date: 
1860
Medium: 
White painted plaster
Dimensions: 
Overall: 10 3/4 x 8 1/4 x 6 1/4 in. ( 27.3 x 21 x 15.9 cm )
Marks: 
inscribed: on interior in pencil: "A. Lincoln." paper label: "Lincoln mask/5 - 78"
Description: 
Life mask after the original cast by Leonard Volk.
Gallery Label: 
This cast was part of the Phrenological Museum of Fowler & Wells, which opened in New York City in 1842. Brothers Orson Squire Fowler (1809-1887) and Lorenzo Niles Fowler (1811-1896) and their business associate Samuel Roberts Wells (1820-1875) were noted phrenologists who read heads to understand the subject's "temperament." Their Phrenological Cabinet displaying casts, skulls, and charts became a popular fixture in the city.
Credit Line: 
Purchase, General Fund
Provenance: 
The Fowler Mask Collection
Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.
Creative: Tronvig Group