Existing comment:
Abraham Lincoln a month before his second inauguration:
Lincoln's faint, tired smile in this likeness makes it one of he most compelling photographic images ever taken of him. For many years, it was commonly thought that this photograph dated from early April 1865 and that it was the last one every made of Lincoln. But in fact, it was part of a series of photographs taken at Alexander Gardner's Washington DC studio two months earlier, on February 5. The large glass negative that Gardner used for this particular portrait broke after it was developed, and just one print was made before the ruined negative was discarded. The portrait later acquired special significance when some interpreted the crack running through the image as a portent of Lincoln's assassination.
Alexander Gardner (1821-1882)
Polaroid facsimile of the original 1865 albumen silver print
Courtesy of the Polaroid Corporation.
This reproduction has replaced the original to protect it from further exposure to light. |