Rare Photos of Meserve's "Unknown" Lincoln Conspirator Hartman Richter, Ex-Frederick Meserve Collection

Two photographs of Ernest "Hartman" Richter (1834-1920), one of the rarest and most frequently misidentified Lincoln conspirators, and indeed so obscure that he was not immediately recognized by even a world-renowned collector of Lincolniana! Printed ca. 1910, from the personal collection of Frederick H. Meserve (1865-1962). The photos are both hand-stamped "Collection / Of / Americana / Frederick H. Meserve / 265 Edgecombe Avenue / New York City" verso. The photos are each housed in construction paper wrappers inscribed in Meserve's hand as "unknown" along the bottom edge. Expected surface wear including gentle corner and other folds. Else near fine. Each photo measures 2.125" x 3.25."

Hartman Richter was the first cousin of Lincoln conspirator George Atzerodt (1835-1865). (Atzerodt had failed to assassinate Vice President Andrew Johnson in the coordinated plan to simultaneously assassinate 16th U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, Vice President Johnson, Secretary of State William H. Seward, and General Ulysses S. Grant on April 14, 1865; he was later executed on July 7, 1865 for his role in the conspiracy.) After losing his nerve on April 14th, Atzerodt had fled to his cousin's home in Germantown, Maryland. When the authorities arrived at Richter's home looking for Atzerodt on April 20, 1865, Richter had foolishly lied to protect his cousin. He was subsequently arrested, and, implicated mostly by association, was sequestered along with the most high-profile suspects aboard two ironclad monitor ships, the "U.S.S. Saugus" and the "U.S.S. Montauk."

Richter is commonly misidentified as Dr. Samuel Mudd (1833-1883), the Maryland physician who treated John Wilkes Booth's broken leg. Among Lincoln conspirator circles, Richter is what is known as a "fake conspirator," that is, an individual who was not at all involved in the actual conspiracy.

The photographs show Richter wearing a dark double-breasted overcoat, and in one of the photos he is shown wearing a hat. The photographs were believed to have been taken in late April 1865 while Richter was a prisoner aboard the "U.S.S. Saugus." Richter was transferred to two other prisons before his release on May 30, 1865, over one month after his arrest. His cousin George Atzerodt was hanged two months later.

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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