Lincoln's Boots...

5fish

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Here is found these stories about Lincoln Boots...


“They are very different. They are much lighter, but very well made,” he said. “Men wore them for everything from going to work to dancing or going to funerals. When a man had his boots made, they were an investment intended to last all his life.

Carnacchi flew East and got to evaluate the Lincoln boots thoroughly. It was the first time a professional bootmaker had done so. He pulled on white gloves and measured them thoroughly, inside and out every possible way, determining they were about size 12½, not the size 14 catalogers had thought. He used lights and mirrors to check out the interior. He made ink impressions of the bottoms of the boots. “I felt the impression every bone in Lincoln’s feet had made, where and how he had worn them. I felt a real connection to him.”

“Four days after his 50th birthday, Lincoln was in Springfield and just down the street from the finest bootmaker in America, named Conrad Loch. He went in to order boots and put $10 down. A good pair of boots then cost $12.50. The ones Lincoln ordered on Feb. 16, 1859, were top of the line and cost $19.50,” Carnacchi said.

After Lincoln was elected, bootmaker Peter Kahler persuaded the president to let him make another pair of boots. He took the many painstaking measurements and made an ink impression of Lincoln’s foot. Lincoln was buried in Kahler’s boots. Until Carnacchi could explain exactly what the numbers meant, no one in the Park Service understood Kahler’s measurements.


The Next story...


Peter Kahle, a humble German immigrant, a shoemaker from Scranton, Pennsylvania, thought he could make a pair of comfortable shoes for his President. He was a modest man and worked from a store basement but advertised it as the "largest boot and shoe establishment in the County." Using the diagrams as a template, he crafted a pair of shoes then sent them to Lincoln by way of a present from a humble admirer. The boots fitted perfectly, and Lincoln was delighted and sent a personal thank you letter to Kahler. The shoemaker was no fool, and the Presidential letter of recommendation was published, making Peter Kahler a celebrity shoemaker. Henceforth he promoted himself as 'Doctor Kahler, official bootmaker to the President.'"

During the Civil War (1861-1865), it was challenging for the President to find private time for a boot fitting and almost impossible for a bootmaker to have an audience with the Commander in Chief. Lincoln was determined, however, to have comfortable boots and sent for Dr. Kahler to attend him at the White House. Several conditions included that he must never talk of their meeting, not even to his family. The President's instructions to Dr. Kohler were to follow the Native Indian method of moccasin measurement, i.e., stand barefoot on a piece of rawhide and with his hunting knife cut out the sole, following the contour of the foot. The President pulled off his boots, stood upon the sheet of thick brown paper, and Dr. Kahler outlined the feet. After the diagram was concluded, the President signed and dated it to show his approval. President Lincoln's right foot was half an inch longer than his left foot.


 

5fish

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Lincoln was a Handball player along with some other games...


He was known to roll “Ten Pins” (bowling) [1], play Billiards (not Pool) [2], and Chess [3] but admitted that he never excelled at any of them. Mr. Lincoln engaged in these games for exercise and amusement, both physically and mentally. He routinely regaled those present with jokes, western anecdotes, and stories during play, which made him popular with opponents and teammates alike.

Likewise, you may have heard that he was a handball player, as have I, but details have always been hard to find. The game of handball was much better suited to Lincoln. At 6 feet 4 inches tall, his long legs and gangly arms served the Rail Splitter well. Muscles honed while wielding an ax as a youth were kept tight and toned as an adult. Lincoln milked his own cows and chopped his own wood even though he was a successful, affluent lawyer with little time to spare.
 

diane

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I have never heard of Lincoln's boots - thanks!

I have heard of his slippers - carpet slippers made in the same fashion, by drawing around the foot. These slippers had two goats on the tops (his pet goats who died in a fire at the White House) and on the sides was his dog Fido. These slippers are pictured in a famous painting of him writing the Emancipation Proclamation which is at the Library of Congress.
 

5fish

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This event falls under those tales about Lincoln and this one is about Lincoln's bread... I found the web page that summarizes the story about Lincoln growing bread... There are Photos of the girl... and the statue of the event and another letter of her asking for a job...


All the ladies like whiskers and they would tease their husband's to vote for you and then you would be President.
 
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