Thaddeus Stevens’ Wig

On ViewThaddeus Stevens’ Private Living Quarters

Dated1860’s

DescriptionStevens wore a wig to conceal permanent hair loss caused by an illness he suffered as a young man. Preserved today in the Stevens & Smith Center, Stevens’ wig offers a deeply personal connection to a man who was seldom photographed. It invites us to consider not only how he looked, but how deliberately he shaped his public image in a world that often judged appearance before ideas.