* Dave McKinney at WBEZ…

A 16-month state study finds no new evidence to authenticate a disputed, multi-million dollar stovepipe hat purportedly owned by Abraham Lincoln that has been displayed at his presidential museum in Springfield.

The report released Monday by Illinois State Historian Samuel Wheeler found the hat did not appear to be in Lincoln’s hat size. The study also found the hat was sold in the 1950s to a downstate antique shop for just $1, and its apocryphal Lincoln connection wasn’t even known to descendants of its original owners.

While Wheeler concluded more study on the hat is warranted, his findings pour an even heavier dose of skepticism on a hat purchased by a private foundation from West Coast collector Louise Taper for display at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. The hat was once appraised at $6.5 million.

“I believe the past can be instructive, if we take the time to examine it and resolve never to repeat the same mistakes,” Wheeler wrote in the 54-page report obtained exclusively by WBEZ.

In the report, Wheeler focused on a history of double-dealing, conflicts of interest and a neglect of basic due-diligence in studying the hat’s provenance before its purchase. He also slammed a “weaponization” of the hat during years of friction between the museum and the not-for-profit that acquired it on behalf of the museum, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation.

The full report is here. Lots more there.

* Letter to the editor from Ray McCaskey and Nick Kalm, the chairman and vice chairman of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation…

We read with disappointment the Jan. 1 editorial, “Another Illinois fiasco: The hat that wasn’t Lincoln’s.”

Unfortunately, as with the NPR segment the editorial board cited, it chose to cherry-pick certain conclusions about the state historian’s report and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation’s acquisition of the hat to bash a group of volunteers who are passionately committed to preserving Lincoln’s legacy.

Most important, the historian, whose report was commissioned by the state, not the foundation, as the editorial erroneously cited, very specifically said he had not concluded the hat wasn’t Lincoln’s, so the editorial’s headline and conclusions are inappropriate and misleading.

State Historian Samuel Wheeler did uncover some additional information supporting the provenance of the hat while criticizing others that had been previously cited by the state and the foundation. Lastly, he said more research was needed to further solidify the hat’s provenance, steps the foundation fully supports.

In addition, the editorial omits other salient facts Tribune readers deserve, including the fact that the foundation was faced with a difficult choice in 2007: Either incur substantial indebtedness, which has since been substantially paid down, to support the state’s request that we urgently acquire the hat and entire Taper collection (there was no a la carte option) or allow what was arguably the world’s largest collection of Lincolnania to be auctioned off and disappear from the public domain forever. Faced with the same choice, we believe most people would have done the same thing.

From the museum’s dot points…

Wheeler recommended additional research including:

• Having multiple experts on men’s headwear examine the hat to see if its material and construction are from Lincoln’s era.
• Carefully measuring the hat size to see if it matches other Lincoln hats.
• Searching additional archives that might shed light on William Waller’s work during the Civil War.

Wheeler measured the hat himself, so, yeah, it would be prudent to have an expert do that instead of an untrained historian. And there is this from Wheeler’s report…

From a historical standpoint, the stovepipe hat’s provenance hinges entirely on family lore. My research indicates the family lore is plausible, but I was not able to verify the claims in the time I had to conduct this research. There are, however, several repositories that may hold answers, including the National Archives, and should be consulted.

If you read his report, it looks like he was put on an overly strict deadline by Deputy Governor Jesse Ruiz.

* And this is from Wheeler’s conclusion…

In response to the provenance issues that were raised in 2012, ALPLM did not respond like a responsible museum. Instead of conducting an honest inquiry and perhaps seizing on the opportunity to educate the public about provenance-related issues, ALPLM assumed an overly defensive position. The 2013 document, “Lincoln Stovepipe Hat: The Facts,” contains untruths and appears to have been issued solely to combat critics.

Exactly right. So, the museum folks need to tone down their whining. The ALPLM brought this on itself with lies.