Abraham Lincoln
[New York, NY], Early 20th century
Abraham Lincoln Mills' Life Mask-Era Photo, Meserve Printed & Collected
Photograph

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 depicting Lincoln with a spiky mane of hair is believed to have been taken in February 1865, around the time that Clark Mills executed Lincoln's second life mask. Numbered in pencil by Meserve verso with the number "91," which corresponds with the numbering system he first developed for his privately published volume, "The Photographs of Abraham Lincoln" (1911). Expected gentle surface wear, else near fine. 2.125" x 3.25."

Meserve described the sourcing of this Lincoln portrait, 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 portrait as "a photograph believed to have been made by Matthew [sic] B. Brady in Washington early in 1865." Modern Lincoln experts maintain that this photograph was actually taken by government photographer Lewis Emory Walker (1823-1880) sometime either before or after Lincoln's February 11, 1865 session with sculptor Clark Mills (1815-1883), the latter who modeled a plaster mold around Lincoln's face and entire head. It has been suggested that Lincoln's hair was deliberately closely cropped to facilitate the taking of the life like mask.

Lincoln sat for over fifty official portraits from his lawyering days on the court circuit until his assassination. Lincoln had several distinctive physical characteristics: a gaunt face, a skinny neck, a large mole on his right cheek, and a slightly drooping left eyelid--all of these can be seen in this portrait. Though not handsome, Lincoln possessed a plain-spun homeliness that endeared him to voters. The future president's awkward physical appearance went a long way in fostering his log cabin-born rail-splitter mystique.

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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2.125" x 3.25"