Abraham Lincoln Photograph by Anthony Berger
Matte-finish 2.25 x 3.25 carte-de-v…
Description

Abraham Lincoln Photograph by Anthony Berger Matte-finish 2.25 x 3.25 carte-de-visite-style photograph of Abraham Lincoln with his son, Tad, originally taken at Mathew Brady's studio by his assistant, Anthony Berger, on February 9, 1864. Displayed in a 4.75 x 5.75 frame. In fine condition. On February 9, 1864, portrait painter Francis B. Carpenter arranged for President Lincoln to sit for a series of photographs at Matthew Brady’s Washington D.C. gallery. Carpenter, the President, and Lincoln’s youngest son Tad walked to Brady’s studio at 3 p.m. Since Brady’s eyesight was beginning to fail, he asked his superintendent, Anthony Berger, to photograph Lincoln. Berger took at least seven poses of the President, both alone and with ten-year-old Tad. The images taken that day have formed the basis for Lincoln’s image on the penny and both the old and new $5 bills. In this image, Lincoln holds 'a big photograph album which the photographer, posing the father and son, had hit upon as a good device to use in this way to bring the two sitters together.' Lincoln later feared that the public would view this pose as 'a species of false pretense' because most viewers would assume the book was a large clasped Bible. When they learned that it was a photograph album, they might think Lincoln was 'making believe read the Bible to Tad.' Just as Lincoln feared, after his death some versions were carefully retouched in order to make the album appear to be a large Bible.

108 

Abraham Lincoln Photograph by Anthony Berger

amherst, United States

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Abraham Lincoln Original Photograph (c. 1890s) - PSA Type IV - Signed by H. W. Fay Original matte-finish 4 x 6 photograph of Abraham Lincoln with a neatly trimmed beard, printed circa 1894 by famed collector of Lincolniana H. W. Fay (per a copyright notice in the lower left corner), and signed and inscribed on the reverse in ink, "To J. G. Oien, Aug. 26, 1922, H. W. Fay, owner, original negative." Considered to be the first image of Lincoln with a full beard, this portrait was taken by photographer C. S. German in Springfield, Illinois, about January 13, 1861, at the request of Ohio sculptor Thomas D. Jones, who went to Springfield to make a bust of Lincoln from life. In very good to fine condition, with minor loss to the upper right corner tip, and toning and old mounting residue on the reverse. Encapsulated by PSA as an authentic "Type IV" photograph, c. 1890s. Herbert Wells Fay worked as an editor for the DeKalb Review before serving as custodian of the Lincoln Tomb in Springfield, Illinois in 1921. An avid collector of Lincolniana, Fay owned 90 different portraits of Abraham Lincoln as part of his enormous collection—all of which he housed in a utility room within the Springfield Tomb. Fay's meticulous documentation and cataloging of his collection have provided historians, researchers, and collectors with a rich resource for the study of Lincoln. His personal involvement in the dissemination of Lincoln's imagery is highlighted by the numerous photographs he inscribed and shared, such as the one here offered.