Outdoor oversized albumen of President Abraham Lincoln's funeral procession. New York: [Alexander Gardner], 1865. Mount recto includes recording information. 7 3/4 x 6 1/4 in., mounted to 10 3/4 x 8 1/2 in. 

A photograph of part of President Lincoln's funeral procession as the hearse traveled through New York City. This hearse was designed by Peter Relyea (1817-1896), the city's undertaker. It was 7 x 14 ft. and featured an entirely black exterior with glass walls, black plumes and a sculptured golden eagle above the catafalque. The hearse sat on a large platform that included a 15-foot-tall canopy with 12 American flags, three in each corner. 

While the mount says this photograph was taken by Mathew Brady, it is more likely that this photograph was taken by Alexander Gardner (see LOC no. 2018667592). Gardner did operate a studio in Washington, D.C., but since he took several photographs of Lincoln throughout his lifetime and of his funeral, it's possible he went to New York to see the procession. 

Originally born in Scotland, Alexander Gardner (1821-1882) immigrated to the U.S. in 1856, where he initiated contact with Mathew Brady after seeing one of his exhibitions in London. Gardner became Brady's assistant in New York, then moved in 1858 to head Brady's gallery in Washington, D.C., where he became well-positioned. This helped him become the staff photographer for McClellan's army after Gardner and Brady decided to begin documenting the Civil War. Gardner captured the Battle of Antietam, then was relieved of his duties at the same time McClellan was. Since Brady was wont to credit Gardner's photographs as his own, Gardner left him and continued to document the Civil War, capturing the Battles of Fredericksburg and Gettysburg, as well as the Siege of Petersburg, among other important events. 

[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]

Residual from adhesive to hang photograph to mount verso. Photograph is starting to come off mount recto upper left corner.