A pair of lovely 19th century household objects including a candlestick and snuffer scissors, with the candlestick identified as having been owned by Abraham Lincoln. With a diameter of around 5 1/2 inches, the attractive-yet-unpretentious turned brass candlestick, a staple of Civil War-era households, bears a stamped patent date of November 24, 1857. The candle measures approx. 5 5/16 inches. Excitingly, a small early tag, inscribed in ink and fastened to the candlestick with thin rope, reads "The candle stick belonged to Abraham Lincoln. The snuffers to F.J.C.'s Grandmother Clark." The snuffer scissors also date to the 19th century and were used to simultaneously extinguish a flame and trim the wick for its next use.

More research into the Clark family may bring the exact circumstances of the candlestick's attribution to Lincoln into greater relief. Intriguingly, Lincoln died in the room of a Petersen House boarder named Willie Clark, a young Army clerk who is well documented to have taken souvenirs from the room after the assassination, including the pillow upon which Lincoln drew his last breath. Could this be another of Willie's relics? 

[Abraham Lincoln, Politics, Mary Todd Lincoln, 1860 Election, Election of 1860, 1864 Election, Election of 1864,  Lincoln Assassination, John Wilkes Booth] [Relics]