Albumen Photograph
“I have always thought the Brady photograph of my father, of which I attach a copy, to be the most satisfactory likeness of him.” -Robert Todd Lincoln, on this photograph
EXTREMELY RARE LARGE-FORMAT ICONIC ALBUMEN PHOTOGRAPH OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN AS PRESIDENT.
Captured by Anthony Berger, head photographer and manager of Mathew Brady’s Washington D.C. Studio, this image persists as one of the most iconic and well-recognized photos of Lincoln. Upon achieving fame as the nation’s first photojournalist for his gripping images of the Civil War battlefield, Brady set up studios in both New York and Washington D.C. so that he could photograph famous citizens, presidents, and politicians. However, he did little of the photographing himself, instead employing men like Anthony Berger and successor Alexander Gardner to create what would become some of the most recognized photos of the sixteenth president.
Taken on February 9, 1864, this image--dubbed 0-92 by Anthony Berger-- is one of many famous photographs to come out of the February photo session. Other photographs include Lincoln with young son Tad on his lap and Lincoln in profile, a photo which was used when designing the penny. This photo, however, was known as the five-dollar bill pose; it was used to produce an oval engraving of the president, which was reproduced on the old five-dollar bill printed from 1914 until 2008.
Robert Todd Lincoln--the president’s eldest son and U.S Secretary of War during the Garfield administration-- sent a copy of this photo to renowned collector Frederick Meserve nearly thirty years after his father’s death, commenting:
“I have always thought the Brady photograph of my father, of which I attach a copy, to be the most satisfactory likeness of him.”
This photo, like many images of Lincoln, was innumerably replicated, but most significantly by Anthony Bicknell Carpenter in his painting The First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation Before the Cabinet, an image which is still displayed in the United States Capitol. The painter spent six months at the white house completing the painting, an artist-in-residency which he later wrote about in his 1866 memoir. Additionally, many used this photo as inspiration when commemorating the president in posthumous lithographic and print reproductions.
This albumen photograph bears the imprint "Brady & Co., Entered according to Act of Congress, by Brady & Co., in the year 1865, in Clerk's Office of District Court for District of Columbia. Washington" and was almost certainly printed in 1865, the year Lincoln was assassinated.
Unique because of its large size and lack of vignette, this photo is regarded as one of the original, unretouched albumen prints that provided visual fodder for countless paintings, lithographs, and CDV's in the years post-Civil War.
In a very early frame under UV-protected museum glass.
Size: Approx. 5.25x7.375 inches (photograph alone); 9.5x7 inches (framed).
Albumen print. Housed in early - possibly contemporary - elegant wood frame. Card mount reads "Brady & Co., Entered According To Act Of Congress, By Brady & Co., In The Year 1865, In Clerk's Office Of District Court For District Of Columbia. Washington." A few dark spots; otherwise in nearly perfect condition. A CLASSIC LINCOLN PHOTO, RARE IN SUCH LARGE, UNRETOUCHED FORMAT. FINE CONDITION.
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