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Old March 27, 2015, 01:17 PM   #1
James K
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Booth's Deringer

Several months ago, I mentioned that the deringer being shown on TV as that used by John Wilkes Booth to kill President Abraham Lincoln differed in some ways from that I recall seeing years ago at Ford's Theater in Washington. I mentioned two specific points - the hammer screw had been broken off, but now had been replaced, and the stock chip appeared to be a different shape.

I posted that I intended to ask the National Park Service, the administrator of Ford's Theater, for their comments.

I received a reply in January (the delay in posting is my fault) from Laura Anderson, Museum Curator, National Mall and Memorial Parks, of the NPS, relevant parts of which I will quote herein.

"The deringer was conserved in 1964 and the changes you noted were done at that time in order to stabilize the object. The screw was most likely added to prevent loss of the hammer....

"A tenet of conservation in those days opted to make conservation work appear obvious to that the public would not mistake any repairs for original material.

"Today's conservation methods generally aim to make conservation work as subtle as possible so the methods used in 1964 would be very different from how we would handle it today.

"The gun will likely have some conservation work done in the future....we do not have any imminent plans for conservation of the deringer at this time because its condition is stable but we do assess it on a regular basis to ensure it remains in good condition."


I believe that Ms. Anderson confuses "conservation" with "restoration" (they are different things, done for different reasons) but her explanation seems reasonable and answers the concerns I had about possible problems with the provenance of the little pistol.

Jim
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Old March 27, 2015, 01:46 PM   #2
4V50 Gary
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Thanks JamesK. When I was in the museum world, the conservation was to stabilize the object. Some museums follow that policy to this day. The one I volunteer at won't let me restore their Sharps (it's not displayable in its present condition).
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Old March 27, 2015, 02:25 PM   #3
James K
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It is a continuing argument in museum circles, but in the case of Booth's deringer, IMHO it should be kept as it was in its "moment of history"*; trying to make it look as it did when it came from the factory is not, again IMHO, an option. When Deringer made it, it was one of thousands of nearly identical guns. When Booth fired that shot, it became a piece of history and part of our national heritage. Making it look new would be a travesty.

*It was supposedly picked up from the floor at Ford's Theater and kept as it was by the Army for many years, then turned over to the NPS.

Jim
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