434 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1952 



of his body, was long and narrow. As compared with the Old 

 Americans his hands must have been in the upper part of the range in 

 length (perhaps 218-220 mm.) and close to the average in breadth 

 ( perhaps 95 mm. ) . This relationship is shown graphically in figure 2. 

 Feet. — Drawings and "measurements" of Lincoln's feet were made 

 on December 13, 1864, by Dr. Peter Kahler, the surgeon-chiropodist 

 who later developed a fashionable practice in New York City. The 

 drawings look as if they had been traced from stockinged feet. The 

 "measurements" are inscribed on the drawings without any indication 

 of how they were determined. The figure "12" appears in the toe of 

 the outline of the left foot and the figure "121/4" in the right. It has 

 been assumed that these are maximum lengths in inches. If so, they 



Hand length, left 

 Hand breadth, left 



fr 



=t^ 



Foot length, left » — — — .-. — — — — — _-,_(-__—_. 



Foot breadth, left 



I I I I I I I 



10 20 30 40 50 60 70 



Figure 2. — Estimated position of Lincoln's hand and foot dimensions in the ranges of Old 

 Americans. Solid horizontal lines = Old Americans at large; interrupted lines =01d 

 Americans in National Academy of Sciences. 



slightly exceed the maximum figure recorded by Hrdlicka for Old 

 American males (305 vs. 296 mm. for the left). Maximum breadth 

 is not given, but it can be calculated from the drawing, assuming that 

 for the left foot 12 inches, or 305 mm., is maximum length. In this 

 way we arrive at a figure of 92 mm., which is well under the maximum 

 (111 mm.) recorded by Hrdlicka for the left foot in Old Americans. 

 The foot index (breadth X 100/length) derived from these figures, 

 30.2, is slightly below the range (30.7-41.1) of Old American males. 

 Although Lincoln's feet thus may have been relatively narrow, these 

 comparisons leave room for doubt that his feet were absolutely as long 

 as Dr. Kahler's figures indicate. 4 



* After this was written, I arranged to have the Lincoln boots, preserved in the Lincoln 

 Museum, Washington, examined by un expert shoe fitter. This was made possible through 

 the courtesy of Stanley W. McClure, assistant chief, National Memorial and Historic 

 Sites, U. S. Department of the Interior. In the opinion of J. W. Rogers, buyer for Julius 

 Garfinckel & Co. of Washington, tbe Lincoln boots are size 12B, according to the present siz- 

 ing standard. This means that Lincoln's foot length was little if any more than 11 inches. 

 Mr. Rogers is of the opinion also that the numbers on the Kahler diagrams refer to 

 external shoe dimensions. This seems to be borne out by the dimensions of this particular 

 pair of shoes. I can report also that the beaded moccasins, which the Chicago Historical 



