Abraham Lincoln Life Mask, ca. 1860

Appraised on: June 13, 1998

Appraised in: Houston, Texas

Appraised by: Ken Farmer

Category: Decorative Arts

Episode Info: Fame & Fortune (#1016)

Originally Aired: May 29, 2006

IMAGE: 1 of 1  

Appraisal Video: (1:49)

GUEST: I bought a house in Wilmington, Illinois...

APPRAISER: This is back in the '40s, right?

GUEST: That's right. In 1944. And when we were going through the attic trying to clear out some of it, I found this mask wrapped up in a cardboard box and paper, and so rather than just put it away in a box, we took it to the public library and it was on display there for over 30 years.

APPRAISER: This is a life mask of Abraham Lincoln. An artist named Leonard Volk in 1860 was commissioned by the government to do a full-size bronze casting of Lincoln's head and it took about an hour to get this plaster to set up on his face, and Lincoln complained terribly about that. That had to put straws up his nose, and then they had to plaster over his face for almost an hour, and he really disliked it a lot. Then some people that were affiliated with the Smithsonian found out about it in the 1880s, I believe, and they commissioned a company to do reproduction plaster cast of Lincoln's life mask as well as his hands. The also did bronzes. And you can see right here on the back, there's a brass label right here that tells the manufacturer and the fact that they were in Chicago and Milwaukee at the time. You have a very desirable piece of Americana. I would estimate that this would probably be worth somewhere in the $1,500 to $2,000 range.

GUEST: Good gracious. That's half of what I paid for the house and everything when I bought it. (both laugh)

APPRAISER: That's amazing.