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Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1865
Born Hardin County, Kentucky
Abraham Lincoln was becoming a national celebrity during the summer of 1860, but some worried that his appearance might cost him votes. Philadelphia supporter John M. Read hired John Henry Brown to make a good, small portrait that would serve as the basis for a printed campaign image. Brown had five sittings with the candidate but also based the image on several ambrotypes taken in Illinois. Lincoln's secretary thought the result was "so well executed that when magnified to life size one cannot discover any defects of brush marks on it at all."
John Henry Brown, 1860 |