Abraham Lincoln

ABRAHAM LINCOLN (1809–1865)
Signed Carte-de-Visite Photograph by the Mathew Brady Studio
Albumen photograph on original carte-de-visite mount, bearing the handwritten signature “A. Lincoln” beneath the image.

Few figures in American history command the reverence, historical significance, and enduring fascination of Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States. Revered as the leader who preserved the Union through the Civil War and guided the nation through its greatest constitutional crisis, Lincoln remains one of the most celebrated statesmen in world history. His assassination in April 1865 elevated him from national leader to American icon, ensuring that artifacts associated with his life would become among the most coveted treasures in historical collecting.

Offered here is an exceptional carte-de-visite portrait of Lincoln produced by the legendary Mathew Brady Studio, the preeminent photographic establishment of nineteenth-century America. Brady and his associates created many of the most recognizable images of Lincoln, helping to shape the public’s perception of the president during the turbulent years of the Civil War. Indeed, it was Brady’s photographic enterprise that preserved for posterity many of the defining visual records of the era.

The portrait depicts Lincoln in a classic three-quarter pose, displaying the distinctive features that made him instantly recognizable to contemporaries and generations that followed. Beneath the image appears the handwritten signature “A. Lincoln” on a separate piece of laid paper affixed to the photograph, adding extraordinary historical and collector appeal to an already desirable Civil War-era photographic artifact.

Carte-de-visite photographs became enormously popular during the 1860s, with Americans eagerly collecting and exchanging likenesses of political leaders, military commanders, and cultural figures. Lincoln cartes-de-visite were among the most sought-after images of the period, serving as patriotic keepsakes during the Civil War and in the years immediately following his death. Authentic examples bearing Lincoln’s signature occupy the highest tier of presidential collectibles and are prized for their rarity, historical importance, and direct association with one of the most consequential figures in American history.

The reverse bears the printed imprint of M. B. Brady’s National Photographic Portrait Galleries, with locations in New York and Washington, D.C., further connecting the piece to the most influential photographic studio of the Civil War period. Such provenance enhances both the historical integrity and desirability of the artifact.

Authentic Lincoln-signed photographs are exceptionally scarce and represent the pinnacle of presidential autograph collecting. Combining Lincoln’s likeness, signature, and a direct connection to the famed Brady studio, this remarkable carte-de-visite stands as a tangible witness to one of the defining chapters in American history and an extraordinary opportunity for collectors of presidential, Civil War, and American historical memorabilia.