Vignette half-length portrait CDV of President Abraham Lincoln, captured from life by Mathew Brady on 9 February 1864. Presented on a classic portrait mount featuring a fine double-gold-ruled border line. The verso displays a backmark reading: Published by E. & H.T. Anthony, 501 Broadway, New York. From Photographic Negative in Brady’s National Portrait Gallery," and a faint period pencil notation reading "A. Lincoln."

An iconic portrait capturing the definitive, battle-weary likeness of the Commander-in-Chief during the absolute peak of the Civil War. This image represents the revered Meserve No. 86 (and Ostendorf O-91) likeness.  Lincoln is pictured seated in a dark frock coat and matching waistcoat, showcasing his prominent watch chain, a crisp white collar, and his signature hand-tied bowtie.

This historic sitting took place at Mathew Brady’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., on 9 February 1864. Lincoln was accompanied at the studio by his artist friend Francis B. Carpenter, who was using photographic sittings to study the president's features for his monumental painting of the Emancipation Proclamation. This specific session produced several of the most famous portraits of Lincoln ever captured, including the profile used for the United States five-dollar bill. To meet the insatiable public demand for portraits of the president, Brady outsourced the mass printing and nationwide commercial distribution of his negatives to the massive photographic supply house of E. & H.T. Anthony in New York. Finding an entirely authentic, first-generation life portrait from this precise, definitive sitting - un-trimmed and retaining a pristine Anthony backmark - represents a remarkable opportunity for even the most advanced Lincoln collectors. 

Excellent.The albumen portrait retains exceptional tone and contrast. The mount remains uncreased and untrimmed, exhibiting only very mild, honest era-appropriate age-toning and faint edge dusting.