Rubens Peale diary

RUBENS PEALE (1784–1865) PAINTER Peale was 81 when he recorded the assassination of Abraham Lincoln on April 15, 1865. On April 23, Peale stood in line for most of the morning attempting to view Lincoln’s body in Philadelphia, but pressing crowds forced him to give up. That evening he and his daughter Mary were allowed to enter a back door: A FINE OPPORTUNITY OF VIEWING THE CORPSE AND DECORATIONS OF THE HALL, WHICH WAS TOTALLY COVERED WITH BLACK CLOTH EXCEPT THE STATUE & PORTRAITS OF GENERAL WASHINGTON & WIFE. I STAID [SIC] ONE HOUR AND LEFT MARY GAZING ON THE CORPSE, SHE INTENDING TO PAINT A PORTRAIT OF HIM.