LINCOLN — STEWART 427 



Mills's technique, led me to believe that he had modeled this part of the 

 head from measurements. I can believe now that, if a head cast 

 actually was taken, Lincoln's coarse and unruly hair might have im- 

 parted a lumpy effect to the cast and Mills might have been forced 

 to modify the surface. Also, whether he reduced the diameters of the 

 head beyond the surface of the compacted hair there is no sure way of 

 telling. Thus, the following head measurements, which I have taken 

 from the cast in the National Museum, are subject to this uncertainty : 



Mm. Inches 



Maximum length from glabella 210 8^ 



Maximum breadth (above ears) 170 6 1 Vie 



Head height (position of poria and bregma estimated) .... 165 6*6 



Circumference (as for hat) 573 22% 



Arc between ear openings over bregma 370 14^ 



Cephalic index 81.0 



For comparison with these figures we have Herndon's statement 

 (Angle, 1949, p. 472) : "The size of his hat measured at the hatter's 

 block was seven and one-eighth, his head being, from ear to ear, six and 

 one-half inches, and from the front to the back of the brain eight 

 inches. Thus measured it was not below medium size." 



Commenting on Herndon's figures, Nicolay reported (letter of 1895) 

 that he and Colonel Hay "made as careful measurement [of the cast 

 owned by Hay] as we could, with the result that from ear to ear it 

 measures Q% inches, and from the front to the back of the brain 7% 

 inches. It is difficult to arrive at exact measurements, but the ones we 

 took applied to hatter's block would give 7*4 or 7% as the size of 

 his hat. So you see it was fully as large as stated by Herndon." 



We come now to the hands, and here again we are confronted with 

 difficulties. In addition to those mentioned already, which for the 

 most part apply here also, we have to deal with flexed fingers. Pre- 

 sumably Volk regarded this form of hand as being both artistic and 

 easy to cast. However, the flexion of the fingers makes it hard to 

 evaluate hand size. All the standard measurements of the hand are 

 planned for the extended position of the fingers. This being the case, 

 we must improvise. 



The distance across the second to fifth knuckles (metacarpopha- 

 langeal joints) amounts to 95 mm. on the left hand. The equivalent 

 distance is not readily obtained on the right, but seems to be no more 

 than 94 mm. The circumference of the right wrist on the hand side of 

 the styloid process (the bony prominence on the same side of the wrist 

 as the little finger) is 188 mm. ; that of the left wrist is 194 mm. The 

 difference possibly is accentuated by the extension of the left wrist and 

 the flexion of the right. 



A measure of the length of the fingers was obtained by stretching a 

 steel tape along the back of each finger from the edge of the nail 



