Description:

Lincoln Abraham



Abraham & Tad Lincoln Carte de Visite after Berger

 

Period carte de visite depicting 16th U.S. President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) and his youngest son Thomas "Tad" Lincoln III (1853-1871), ca. 1864. The sepia-toned albumen print is mounted on a cream stock card. Pencil inscribed verso. Unevenly toned, else in very good to near fine condition. Overall 2.25" x 3.75".

 

Unlike other photographs that represented Abraham Lincoln as a political leader, this one emphasized both his humanity and his paternity. Here, the bespectacled Lincoln is shown with an open Bible on his lap, while rambunctious son Tad stands uncharacteristically attentively at his left. Taken by Mathew Brady's colleague Anthony Berger, the candid family portrait was unauthorized by Brady. Berger later copyrighted the image and reproduced it from his private Brooklyn, New York studio, where it was widely circulated following Lincoln's assassination.

 

This was one of seven photographs taken by Berger on February 9, 1864. Berger's afternoon session was extremely successful, despite difficulties with lighting and unexpected delays caused by Tad's locking the door and absconding with the key. Berger's session resulted in no less than four iconic and unusual Lincoln portraits: his "penny" profile (Ostendorf 88); the inspiration for the $5 bill portrait (Ostendorf 91); him standing (Ostendorf 94); and father and son (Ostendorf 93).

 

A German émigré, Anthony Berger (born 1832, active 1860s) started working for Mathew Brady's photographic studio around 1855. His duties included converting photographic images into oil paintings and overseeing photography sessions. By the 1860s, he had become the manager of Brady's National Portrait Gallery.

 

Mathew Brady (1822-1896) dominated antebellum and Civil War-era American photography. An established photographer, Brady became even more well-known for his celebrity photographs and his gruesome battlefield photographs.

 



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