LINCOLN — STEWART 421 



others. When Volk had asked Lincoln to pose for a bust sometime 

 when he would be in Chicago, the great man had replied promptly and 

 simply, "Yes, I will, Mr. Volk— shall be glad to, the first opportunity 

 I have." 



Now, almost 2 years later, the opportunity had come. Lincoln was 

 in Chicago on legal business and was to stay there from March 23 

 to April 4. Volk had chanced to see his name in the newspaper 

 and had arranged an appointment. In preparation for the sittings, 

 and over Volk's protest, Lincoln had had his hair cut. 



After Lincoln had seated himself in Volk's studio that Friday 

 morning, only measurements were taken. Except for stature, which 

 Volk seems to have remembered incorrectly, we are not told of what 

 the measurements consisted. Probably they represented the main 

 diameters and circumferences needed by the sculptor for building into 

 clay the body masses; probably also they were taken over the clothing 

 without any attempt at real accuracy. 



At the second sitting, on Saturday, Volk made a cast of Lincoln's 

 face. In those days sculptors often resorted to this means of secur- 

 ing an exact likeness. They could, of course, modify the expression 

 of the mask as they chose, but it gave them something to refer to in 

 the sitter's absence. Reporting the episode 20 years later, Volk said : 



He sat naturally in the chair when I made the cast, and saw every move 

 I made in a mirror opposite, as I put the plaster on without interference with 

 his eyesight or his free breathing through the nostrils. It was about an hour 

 before the mold was ready to be removed, and being all in one piece, with 

 both ears perfectly taken, it clung pretty hard, as the cheekbones were higher 

 than the jaws at the lobe of the ear. He bent his head low and took hold 

 of the mold, and gradually worked it off without breaking or injury; it hurt 

 a little, as a few hairs of the tender temples pulled out with the plaster and 

 made his eyes water. 



A less calm and courageous person might have become panicky 

 during such an ordeal. The hair pulling, and the realization that 

 the mold was hard to get off, were discomforts of which probably 

 Lincoln had been warned. In addition, well before the end of the 

 hour, surely the setting plaster had begun to generate heat. Volk's 

 efforts at assurance might not have been so successful if Lincoln had 

 known that, years before, the aged Jefferson had almost succumbed 

 to the effects of Browere's moldmaking (Hart, 1899) . Nevertheless, 

 even if Lincoln had been discouraged thereby from further sittings, 

 an accurate record of his face had been obtained, for which we are 

 grateful to Volk. 



Of course Lincoln was not so easily discouraged. Volk got the 

 sittings required for a bust and ultimately for a full-length figure 

 (Durman, 1951). But we will pass over these proceedings, for our 

 interest here is in the life mask alone. In this mask the physical an- 



