[LINCOLN, Abraham (1809-1865)]. HESLER, Alexander (1823-1895), photographer. Platinum photograph of Abraham Lincoln. George B. Ayres, printer, [1881].

8 7/8 x 6 3/4 in. platinum photograph on thick mount (very good tonality, residue and some flaking to margins, short tear near lower left edge that appears original to print). Inscribed on verso, "Copyright Geo. B. Ayres, Phila.," with additional notations below. Lower right corner with blindstamp, "Copyright 18."

The photograph was printed by George B. Ayres in 1881 directly from the original negative by Alexander Hesler, taken at Springfield, IL, 3 June 1860, [Ostendorf, O-26].

This is one of four known portraits of Lincoln taken by Hesler on 3 June 1860, at the old Capitol Building in Springfield, IL, two weeks after Lincoln's nomination for President by the Republican National Convention in Chicago. The original plates were retained by Ayres when he bought and sold Hesler's gallery immediately after the Civil War. In 1881, Ayres produced prints from the plates and also created a duplicate set of glass negatives [Ostendorf, 49].
This lot is located in Cincinnati.