The Trip in Photos

Hey, Scalzi, does this ring any bells?

There it is, folks.  The pistol with which John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln.  Pretty small gun that did so much.

I also took this pic of his knife, which looks rather nastier. 

Can't say that I admire Booth or anything.  But you do have to give marks for the theatricality of the whole thing.  Killing Lincoln in a crowded theatre, leaping to the stage, yelling "Sic Semper Tyrannis!" -- I mean, really, what assassins bother with the whole Latin catchphrase thing these days?  Booth was wrong and twisted and evil, but he does get points for style.

Speaking of style, however, his victim was a bit ahead of him there.  Check out the coat Lincoln was wearing.  More precisely, the lining. 

Check it out.  Dude has a Brooks Brothers coat made all special for his second inaugural, and gets them to stitch the American eagle into the lining.  (See the eagle there at the top of the photo?  With the ribbon in its claws?)  Now, I'm sure Abe didn't have any idea anyone would be seeing the inside of his coat.  (I mean, it wasn't like he knew he'd be assassinated while wearing it and the coat would end up as an artifact in a museum at Ford's Theatre for generations to come.)  But when he has a coat tailored especially for him, he puts the national symbol in the lining even though he figures he'll probably be the only one to ever see it.  Smooth.