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Primary sourceDocument14 April 1865

Calling Card Left by John Wilkes Booth for Andrew Johnson

John Wilkes Booth · 14 April 1865

A handwritten calling card Booth left at Vice President Andrew Johnson's hotel hours before assassinating Lincoln.

This card, written and signed by Booth himself, documents his movements hours before he assassinated Lincoln.

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Photograph of a small off-white calling card with handwritten pencil text reading 'Don't wish to bother you. Are you at home?' and the signature 'J. Wilkes Booth' with a small underline flourish below.
John Wilkes Booth, calling card left at Kirkwood House, 14 April 1865. National Archives.

About this source

What it is

This is a small handwritten calling card, dated 14 April 1865, left by John Wilkes Booth at the Kirkwood House hotel, where Vice President Andrew Johnson was staying. It was collected by William A. Browning and is now held by the National Archives.

Why it matters

The brief, polite note—asking if Johnson was at home—was written on the very day Booth assassinated Lincoln, and it later raised suspicions that Johnson might have been another target or even involved in a wider plot. The card is a rare direct trace of Booth's own hand and movements on that fateful day.

Look closer

  • Why might Booth have wanted to see Johnson that day?
  • What does the ordinary, casual wording of the note suggest about Booth's state of mind?
  • How might this small object have changed how people viewed Johnson afterward?

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