Description:

Littlefield & Goldin's "Death-Bed of Lincoln" Enhanced Photo Contemporaneously Annotated With Title & Index

An enhanced albumen photograph after the original painting by John H. Littlefield entitled "Death-Bed of Lincoln, April 15, 1865," depicting an artistic recreation of the death of 16th U.S. President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), ca. 1865. John H. Littlefield (born 1835), an Illinois artist who had personally known Lincoln, painted the portraits of Lincoln's deathbed visitors after individual photographs; John Goldin (born 1827), the Washington, D.C. based photographer, took the photograph of the original artwork; and William Terry was the printer. The photograph has been contemporaneously annotated in elegant white script with the title of the work, "Dead-Bed of Lincoln," at upper left; as well as with the names of the visitors along the bottom. Printed copyright information can be seen just below the frame edge. Expected surface wear including isolated wrinkles, with three possibly retouched areas only affecting Welles and Johnson at lower left. Expected minor surface loss to the frame. Not examined out of the frame. The sight size of the photograph is 17.875" x 11" while the overall framed size is 21" x 14" x 1.25."

Goldin's photograph after Littlefield's painting shows Lincoln surrounded by 25 individuals, all named and identified in the index below. These family members, friends, cabinet members, politicians, military commanders, and clergymen included, from left to right:

1. "Gov. Farwell" - Leonard J. Farwell, former Governor of Wisconsin

2. "Sec. McCullogh" - Hugh McCullogh, U.S. Secretary of Treasury

3. "Sec. Welles" - Gideon Welles, U.S. Secretary of Navy

4. "Gov. Oglesby" - Richard J. Oglesby, Governor of Illinois

5. "Gen. Farnsworth" - John F. Farnsworth, former Union cavalry officer, then Illinois congressman

6. "Vice-Pres. Johnson" - Andrew Johnson, future 17th U.S. President

7. "Judge Otto" - William Tod Otto, Lincoln's friend, and currently a member of the Interior Department staff

8. "Speaker Colfax" - Schuyler Colfax, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives

9. "Dr. Stone" - Dr. Robert King Stone, Lincoln family physician

10. "P.M. Gen. Dennison" - William Dennison, Jr., U.S. Postmaster General

11. "Surg. C.A. Leale" - Dr. Charles Augustus Leale, army surgeon

12. "Mrs. Lincoln" - First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln (face not visible)

13. "Maj. Jno. Hay" - John Hay, Lincoln's private secretary

14. "Robt. Lincoln" - Robert Lincoln, the Lincolns' eldest son (face not visible)

15. "Sen. Sumner" - Charles Sumner, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts

16. "Surg. C.S. Taft" - Dr. Charles S. Taft, attending surgeon

17. "Dr. Crane" - Dr. Charles H. Crane

18. "Att. Gen. Speed" - James Speed, U.S. Attorney General

19. "Dr. Barnes, Surg. Gen." - Dr. Joseph K. Barnes, Surgeon General of the U.S. Army

20. "Sec. Usher" - John Palmer Usher, U.S. Secretary of the Interior

21. "Rev. Dr. Gurley" - Phineas Densmore Gurley, Presbyterian minister of the Lincoln family, former Chaplain of U.S. Senate

22. "Gen. Halleck" - General Henry W. Halleck, former General-in-Chief of the U.S. Army

23. "Gen. Auger" - General Christopher C. Augur, Union Army

24. "Sec. Stanton" - Edwin M. Stanton, U.S. Secretary of War

25. "Gen. Meigs" - General Montgomery C. Meigs, Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army

President Lincoln had been shot at Washington, D.C.'s Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865 by Southern sympathizer John Wilkes Booth around 10:25 pm. The fatally wounded Lincoln was carried across the street to the boarding house known as the Petersen House. During the nine hours between Lincoln's shooting and death at 7:22 am the next morning, more than a dozen doctors examined and treated him, and approximately 55 to 65 people visited his bedside.

Littlefield's painting was a creative re-imagining of the death scene, since not all of the depicted visitors attended Lincoln at the same time, nor could the cramped bedroom have accommodated a room full of people. Yet this small flight of fancy did not mean that Littlefield did not prize historical accuracy. On the contrary, Littlefield relied on photographic portraits of the individuals for verisimilitude, and had clearly studied the furnishings of the Petersen House bedroom. (Please see a photo of the Petersen House bedroom included for reference; in his painting, Littlefield depicted the striped wallpaper, spindled bed frame, and even the equestrian prints on the wall!)

The presence or absence of figures in Littlefield's print is significant. Since there is no one authoritative account of who visited Lincoln's deathbed and when, a degree of uncertainty invited controversy and speculation at the time of the assassination. Anti-Johnson rumors at the time claimed that the Vice President was on a drunken bender and did not visit Lincoln, though these claims have been convincingly disproved by modern historians. Littlefield depicted Andrew Johnson prominently in the left foreground. Who is missing is equally important. Secretary of State William H. Seward, who had been stabbed by Lewis Powell on April 14th, was still in critical condition. The Lincoln's youngest surviving son Tad is also not depicted; he was informed on Saturday night that his father had been assassinated.

Lincoln's deathbed scenes were produced during the 1860s by the likes of John H. Littlefield, Alexander Hay Ritchie, Alexander Gardner, Alonzo Chappel, John B. Bachelder, and Currier & Ives. Littlefield profited richly from the posthumous Lincoln commemorative trade, establishing the Lincoln Publishing Company, which mass-produced engravings, after the assassination. The contemporaneous manuscript annotations make this a highly unusual example of a widely disseminated print.

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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