Horizontal outdoor view albumen CDV. Columbus, Ohio: M. Witt, Photographer, 81 S. High St., [April-May 1865]. Photographer's imprint and canceled 3-cent US Internal Revenue proprietary stamp to mount verso.

This historically profound horizontal carte-de-visite captures the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus heavily draped in dark mourning bunting. The statehouse's distinctive Greek Revival architecture and unique flat-topped cupola are clearly visible against the sky. The image offers a somber visual record of a community in grief. The reverse of the mount bears the elaborate backmark of Columbus photographer M. Witt.

Following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln on 14 April 1865, a special funeral train embarked on a sweeping, multi-state journey to return the martyred president to Springfield, Illinois. On 29 April 1865, the train arrived in Columbus, Ohio. Lincoln's casket was carried into the Ohio Statehouse, where he lay in state in the rotunda from morning until evening, allowing tens of thousands of weeping citizens to pay their final respects. This photograph captures the statehouse exactly as it was decorated for this monumental event, serving as a direct visual artifact of the Lincoln funeral procession.

[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Photography, Early Photography, Historic Photography, Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes, Tintypes, Cased Images, Union Cases, Albumen Photographs, CDVs, Carte de Visites, Cartes de Visite, Carte-de-visite, Cartes-de-visite, CDV, Cabinet Cards, Stereoviews, Stereocards]

The image is in very good condition. The albumen surface exhibits a soft, pleasing tonality that clearly captures the architectural details and the draped mourning cloth. There is some minor surface wear, a small surface blemish near the top left corner and light age-related fading typical of period photography.