Historical Indulgences

ca. 1865, [cabinet card of one of the boots worn by John Wilkes Booth during the Assassination of President Lincoln]

via Luminous Lint, Private collection of Graham Pilecki, LL/35130 

ca. 1863, “Before the Proclamation; After the Proclamation”, Morse & Peaslee

These two parodic cartes-de-visite, made by the Morse & Peaslee studio in Nashville, Tennessee, present an extremely simplified story of the effects of the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 through the figure of a single black boy. The boy most likely did not know how his image would be used, and the photographer probably staged the photographs by asking the boy to use different facial expressions. “Before the Proclamation,” the boy looks slack-jawed and melancholy; “After the Proclamation,” he wears a broad grin that verges on a leer. While the audience for these cartes-de-visite is not clear, the elements of caricature suggest that together they form a derisive commentary on newly freed slaves, as well as a reflection of white anxiety over the consequences of the Proclamation. Ironically, because Tennessee had been under Union control since early 1862, the Proclamation-which liberated slaves only in actively rebellious states-did not apply there. Nonetheless, Nashville felt the effects of the Proclamation, which destabilized the institution of slavery even where it did not abolish it. Slaves in Tennessee abandoned the plantations in large numbers…by early 1864.

via the International Center of Photography

ca. 1852-55, [daguerreotype portrait of Edwin Stanton, with his son Edwin Lamson Stanton]

via the Library of Congress, Daguerreotype Collection

ca. 1858, [daguerreotype portrait of Abraham Lincoln], Christopher S.

Lincoln, with characterist modesty, professed not to be pleased with the portrait, and when he forwarded the daguerreotype to Harriet Chapman, his letter of transmittal noted that “this is not a very good-looking picture, but it’s the best that could be produced from the poor subject”…

via Christie’s Auction

ca. 1858, “Yours Truly, A. Lincoln”, [Portrait of a beardless Abraham Lincoln, probably taken in Peoria, Illinois], Roderick M. Cole

via Christie’s Auction

ca. 1857, [Portrait of Abraham Lincoln with tousled hair, ca. 1880-1890 copy by Max Platz], Alexander Hesler

via Heritage Auctions

ca. 1860, [The first portrait taken of Abraham Lincoln after he had received the nomination for president at the Republican National Convention in Chicago], William Marsh

Abrahan Lincoln was one of the most strategic political nominees. He recognized the importance and benefit of the photograph as well as the newspapers  in securing his public image and nomination. Therefore, Mr. Lincoln sat for over 100 photographs during his lifetime, more than any other president or presidential nominee up to that time.

via the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Photographic Collections

ca. 1850-54, [Portrait of George Lippard]

A religious and philosophical child prodigy from Philadelphia, George Lippard was a prolific author and a steadfast defender of the oppressed. In 1847, he founded the Brotherhood of America, an organization that continues to champion the underprivileged today, and his writings are said to have awakened Abraham Lincoln to the plight of slaves. Lippard, whose best known essays recorded “Legends” of old Philadelphia, was also a close friend of Edgar Allan Poe.

via the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

ca. 1861, [Memorial portrait of Colonel Elmer Ellsworth]

Like many Americans, Lincoln lost loved ones in the Civil War. The death of Colonel Elmer Ellsworth on May 24, 1861, was particularly painful, as he and his wife, Mary, looked upon the young man as another son. Lincoln ordered Ellsworth’s funeral to be held at the White House; during the service, Mrs. Lincoln placed this commemorative portrait on his casket. As the first Union army officer to be killed in the war, Ellsworth became a national hero.

via the Chicago History Museum, Abraham Lincoln Transformed collection on Flickr

ca. 1865-85, “He, Being Dead, Yet Speaketh”

via Heritage Auctions

ca. 1865, [Rocking chair used by President Lincoln in Ford’s Theater]

via the Library of Congress, Civil War Glass Negatives and Related Prints

ca. 1865, [John Wilkes Booth], Alexander Gardner

via the Library of Congress, Miscellaneous Items in High Demand

I’m going to wish Mr. Booth a happy 173rd birthday today, because who doesn’t have a special place in their hearts for our most notorious criminals?

ca. 1865-85, [Abraham Lincoln memorial carte de visite]

via Heritage Auctions

ca. 1867, “The ‘bullet,’ with which our martyr President A. Lincoln was assassinated by J.W. Booth, as seen under a microscope”, Chicago Lithographing Co.

via the Library of Congress, Popular Graphic Arts Collection