A POIGNANT PORTRAIT OF LINCOLN TAKEN JUST DAYS BEFORE HIS ASSASSINATION

An individual half-length portrait carte de visite of President Abraham Lincoln, captured from life by Alexander Gardner on Monday, 10 April 1865. This highly desirable, rare variant features an explicit, integrated lower text line directly on the face of the mount reading: "Entered according to Act of Congress, by Alex. Gardner, in the year 1865, in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the District of Columbia." The reverse displays a spectacular backmark for Alex. Gardner, Photographer to the Army of the Potomac, 511 Seventh Street and 332 Pennsylvania Ave, published by Philp & Solomons of Washington, D.C.

This image (Ostendorf O-115) was captured at Gardner's independent gallery just one day after the surrender of Gen. Robert E. Lee and four days before Lincoln's assassination. The three-quarter view resolves the president from the chest up, showcasing his full beard and a deeply focused expression. Most strikingly, the image captures an image of a president ravaged by the weight of war and staggering loss. Lincoln, looking far more tired and haggard than images taken just years earlier, still maintains the slightest hint of a smile, perhaps a recognition that with the surrender of Lee the devastating war he oversaw was nearing its end. 

Finding an authentic, first-generation wartime printing that successfully preserves the front-facing federal copyright text line alongside the pristine Philp & Solomons backmark represents a major rarity for advanced Lincoln collectors. 

[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] [Abraham Lincoln, Politics, Mary Todd Lincoln, 1860 Election, Election of 1860, 1864 Election, Election of 1864,  Lincoln Assassination, John Wilkes Booth]

The albumen surface is exceptionally bright, with rich contrast and minimal wear.