The inauguration of Barack Obama as the first African-American president of the USA is coming soon on January 20, 2009. Obama truly has a lot of things on his plate and people of all political stripes around the world wish him well. Who are his mentors? It has been widely reported in CNN and elsewhere that Obama has a great admiration for Abraham Lincoln. Indeed he has modelled many of his activities on the iconic president.
There is serendipity here. It will soon be the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birthday coming soon on February 12, (It was in1809). The Smithsonian has published an anniversary commemorative magazine about Lincoln and have devoted a page to Lincoln on their website. There is a special exhibit going on now at the Smithsonian .Check ot the pen and ink drawing of Lincoln in his stove pipe hat! I am a history buff as you may have gathered by now. We can learn a lot about the present by studying history and we can make what is old new again – for example the renaissance of hat wearing that I strive to achieve. But I digress. You can pick up the Smithsonian Magazine special edition at your local bookstore/newsagent. I picked up my copy. It has a lot of discussion of facts and myths about the great man.
Back to Barack Obama! Recently the New York Post published an article dealing with connections between Obama and Lincoln. In the lead into the article the Post included a fake picture of Obama wearing a top hat. It’s a nice thought – I wish that he would actually wear a top hat at the inauguration. So I can dream can’t I? By all accounts Lincoln looked very dapper in his famous hat. He was a tall, slender, man who was very dramatic in his signature stove pipe top hat.
The New York Post article is worth checking out. Of course some of the connections between Lincoln and Obama are obvious. Lincoln, like Obama, was a Senator from Illinois (it is known as - The Land of Lincoln“- shown on licence plates – or at least it was at one time). Another important connection is that Lincoln has a strong connection with the African-American community. He was the president to declare the emancipation of slaves in the USA in 1963. It was an important cause over which the Civil War was fought. At the conclusion of the Civil War the slaves obtained their freedom. Of course it was to be over far more than 100 years that the African American people were able to obtain true “freedom”. We are there perhaps but many would still argue that freedom has not been fully achieved yet. The election of Barack Obama is a huge milestone to be celebrated. Let’s hope it leads to a better understanding all round.
It seems clear that Obama has read many of the more than 1000 books about Lincoln. He has shown his admiration of him in many different ways. Notably Obama has formed quite a notable, strong group of advisers and Cabinet members, many of whom were his former rivals. This was something for which Lincoln was well known for – the coalition of rivals. Lincoln made his chief presidential rival William Seward Secretary of State. Read Mr Lincoln and New York as a background to the rivalry between Seward and Lincoln. Seward was the Senator from New York and the original favorite for the presidential race for the old Republicans – the party of Lincoln. As well, Seward did not get the nod for the Vice Presidency – the process was different then – fascinating! You can see the strong sense of deja vu here as Hillary Clinton has accepted Obama’s invitation to the office of Secretary of State. It almost gives one the shivers!
There are many throwbacks to Lincoln and you can read about them in the Post article – things like using Lincoln replica china! It’s almost a fetish!
Let’s go back to the very important matter of the Stove Pipe Top Hat. It has always been very much a source of regret to me that the famous Lincoln Memorial does not depict the great man wearing his signature hat. These signature pieces are important – consider Bob Hope (for you youngsters out there Hope was a very famous vintage comedian who lived to be over 100 years old – Google him!). Hope had a famous song Thanks for the Memory . Well thank you Abraham Lincoln for the memory of wearing your top hat!
The most famous portrayal of Lincoln was in a classic movie called Abe Lincoln in Illinois released in 1940. It covers Lincoln’s early days as lawyer up to his election as president. The movie starred Raymond Massey, truly a master of Lincoln tribute. Massey reprised his Lincoln role for years after. Interestingly Massey was a Canadian. He was part of the Massey family who brought you farm tractors!
Perhaps I have got you excited enough to get your own stove pipe top hat? The starting point is for you to look at the original stove pipe top hat at the Smithsonian museum. Check out the famous hat at the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia site together with a number of other artifacts from Lincoln.
If you are suffering from a major case of stove pipe top hat envy you can visit Barons Hat site. Barons is the hat maker to Hollywood and has provided custom hats to movie stars and hats featured in many movies. It’s a wonderful site. One of the features involves the reproduction of Lincoln’s famous hat. Check the story out on the Barons site. The recreation was a meticulous and painstaking affair. The process included a visit to the Smithsonian to view one of the original hats worn by Lincoln up close and personal and to witness a very careful measurement taking process. What an awesome privilege! You can see the exact specifications at their site. The hats can be obtained for $498 and up to over $1000 depending on the materials used and whether you would like simulated aging. I stand in awe.
There are many other suppliers where you can obtain stove pipe hats but none as super as the Baron’s ones. (you can search reenactment sites if you wish).
Please Barack please wear a stove pipe hat someday. You would look really cool in it and you would do wonders for hat revival – it’s a worthy cause.
Please check out Obama hats on my previous post.
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