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Lot 89
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7 of 8 Lincoln Conspirator Photos from the Frederick Meserve Collection
7 of 8 Lincoln Conspirator Photos from the Frederick Meserve Collection
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Description:

7 of 8 Lincoln Conspirator Photos from the Frederick Meserve Collection

A collection of photographs of seven of the eight tried Lincoln et al. conspirators, printed ca. 1910, from the personal collection of world-renowned Lincoln collector Frederick H. Meserve (1865-1962). The photos are sourced from multiple sources but are all hand-stamped "Collection / Of / Americana / Frederick H. Meserve / 265 Edgecombe Avenue / New York City" verso. Expected surface wear including isolated wrinkles or gentle creases, else near fine. The average size of the photos is 2.125" x 3.25."

Eight individuals were arrested and eventually tried for their roles in the coordinated plan to simultaneously assassinate 16th U.S. President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), Andrew Johnson, William H. Seward, and Ulysses S. Grant on April 14, 1865. It was hoped that eliminating four chief politicians and military commanders would incapacitate the Union.

The photographs depict seven of the eight tried conspirators. Six of seven of these photographs were originally taken by Alexander Gardner (1821-1882), who was hired by the federal government to document the imprisonment and execution of Lincoln's conspirators. We do not know whether Meserve printed these photographs from original negatives, however, the level of crispness and sharpness may indicate that that is the case.

Judicial review and sentencing of the Lincoln conspirators were provided by a 9-person Military Tribunal over a seven-week-long trial. Of the eight defendants, Mary Surratt, David Herold, George Atzerodt, and Lewis Powell (sometimes called Lewis Payne) were sentenced to death by hanging; their executions took place on July 7, 1865 at Washington's Old Arsenal Penitentiary, today Fort Lesley McNair. Samuel Arnold, Michael O'Laughlen, and Samuel Mudd were sentenced to life imprisonment while Edmund Spangler received a term of six years.

The photos depict:

1. Mary Surratt (1820/23-1865) was convicted of aiding and abetting Lincoln's principal conspirators. Though her involvement was indirect, Surratt owned the boarding house where the conspirators frequently met. This led Andrew Johnson to allegedly state, when signing her death warrant, "she kept the nest that hatched the egg."

2. David Herold (1842-1865) accompanied and aided Booth in his flight from Washington, D.C. to Maryland. Herold had participated in the Lincoln kidnapping plot and was also supposed to have helped Powell in the latter's attempts to assassinate Seward.

3. George Atzerodt (1835-1865), a Lincoln kidnapping plotter, was tasked with assassinating then Vice President Andrew Johnson. He acquired a hotel room and weapons but later abandoned the plan.

4. Lewis Powell (1844-1865) was a Confederate veteran and secret service agent who was charged in assassinating Seward. Powell severely wounded Seward, Seward's son, and several other attendants.

5. Samuel Arnold (1834-1906), formerly Booth's schoolmate, was implicated in the kidnapping plot. He was sentenced to life in prison but released in 1869.

6. Michael O'Laughlen (1840-1867) was Booth's childhood friend. He too had been involved in the kidnapping plot, and had been tapped to assassinate Ulysses S. Grant. He died in prison of yellow fever two years before Johnson's presidential pardon.

7. Edmund Spangler (1825-1875) was a Ford's Theater stage hand who held Booth's hired horse outside of the theater the night of the assassination. He was pardoned in 1869.

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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