Description:

Abraham Lincoln 2nd Inaugural Address Photo, Meserve Printed & Collected

A photographic print of 16th U.S. President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), printed sometime in the early 20th century, from the personal collection of world-renowned Lincoln collector Frederick H. Meserve (1865-1962). The original photo depicts Lincoln delivering his second inaugural address before spectators at the United States Capitol, March 4, 1865. Numbered in pencil by Meserve verso with the number "90," which corresponds with the numbering system he first developed for his privately published volume, "The Photographs of Abraham Lincoln" (1911). Expected gentle surface wear including the slightest adhesive residue verso, else near fine. 2.125" x 3.25."

Meserve described the sourcing of this Lincoln photograph, as with others like it in this particular collection, with the following statement: "the photographic portraits [have been] printed from the original negatives or from negatives made from the original negatives." Thus these photos can be considered as Type II or Type IV photographs. Meserve described this Lincoln image as a "detail from a large photograph, probably by Alexander Gardner, of the second inauguration of President Lincoln March 4, 1865. President Lincoln is standing behind the reading desk with manuscript raised. Mr. Nicolay [John George Nicolay], one of his secretaries, stands behind the empty chair, and Vice President Johnson has hidden his face with his hat."

The original photo by Alexander Gardner is the only known photograph taken of Lincoln's second inaugural address. Meserve's cropped reprint has an interesting omission: it does not show suspected Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth (1838-1865) lurking among the crowds on the upper balustrade. (In larger photographic reproductions of Gardner's photo, Booth, prominent in a top hat, can be seen in mid-crowd in the upper right corner, his face clearly visible.) Booth had been invited to the inaugural address as a guest of Lucy Hale, daughter of a New Hampshire Senator, and also his secret fiancée. He later recollected that the event would have been an "excellent chance…to kill the President, if I had wished." Other Lincoln et al. conspirators David Herold, Lewis Powell, and George Atzerodt also attended the second inaugural address in person, perhaps gathering reconnaissance for their future plans.

Frederick H. Meserve was a preeminent collector of Lincoln and Civil War era photography, ephemera, maps, and books. He began collecting Lincolniana in 1897, with the intention of illustrating his father's Civil War diary. In the early 1900s, Meserve acquired 10,000 original Brady negatives including seven Lincoln portraits. Meserve continued collecting Lincoln likenesses, as well as photos of Lincoln's contemporaries, over the next sixty years. He eventually amassed a collection of 200,000 pieces including some previously "lost" or unknown images of Lincoln. Meserve's collection was so esteemed for its completeness that he essentially became the custodian of "Lincoln's image." Meserve was approached by medal and currency engravers, as well as by the sculptors of Lincoln's Memorial Monument, for direct access to his presidential photographs. In 2015, the Meserve-Kunhardt Collection was acquired by the Yale Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library (New Haven, Connecticut.)

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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March 15, 2023 11:00 AM EDT
Wilton, CT, US

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