(1809-1865) Illinois lawyer. 16th President U.S.A., 1861-65. Led the Union through the Civil War. Famous for The Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the slaves. His second term in the White House was cut short when he became the first American President to be assassinated. He was shot by the famous actor, John Wilkes Booth, at Ford's Theatre, Washington, D.C., on the evening of April 14, 1865, dying early next morning.

Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 4 card. Corners of the mount have been very slightly trimmed. Light age toning and wear. Ostendorf #53. Full seated view with the M.B. Brady table and ornate inkwell in the background. Backmark: E. Anthony, N.Y., made from a photographic negative in Brady's National Portrait Gallery. Also has the photographic sticker of McAllister & Brother, Philadelphia. This historic image was taken by Alexander Gardner on or about February 24, 1861, on Lincoln's first sitting in Washington, D.C. Having just traveled nearly 2,000 miles by train to get to the nation's capital, the exhausted president elect went to M.B. Brady's Washington studio to have his photograph taken. Very desirable pose!