Why were the clothes Edgar Allan Poe wore when he was found in Baltimore considered unusual?

When Edgar Allan Poe was discovered in a Baltimore tavern on October 3, 1849, his attire was considered highly unusual because the clothing did not appear to be his own. Instead of the black wool suit he typically wore, he was found in a cheap, ill-fitting suit and a straw hat.1

This discrepancy in his clothing has fueled theories that Poe may have been a victim of "cooping," a form of 19th-century electoral fraud. In such schemes, gangs would capture individuals, force them to vote multiple times for a specific candidate, and often use disguises to prevent the victims from being recognized while casting repeated ballots.1