A New Lincoln Photo Discovered?

Could the man in this image be holding a previously unknown photo of Abraham Lincoln? According to the Associated Press (article from The Hartford Courant), this newly discovered photo just might be a rare "new" photo of Lincoln. Most intriguingly of all, it also could be the very last photo of Abraham Lincoln ever taken.

In this AP exclusive article, the story of the photo discovery is told. The photo comes from an album previously owned by none other than President Ulysses S. Grant, who was of course the commanding general of the Union Army in 1865. The album is owned today by a great-great grandson of Grant, Ulysses S. Grant VI, who contacted a leading collector of Lincoln photography, Keya Morgan. Upon inspecting the photo, which shows a tall figure in the background, Morgan convinced Grant to remove the photo from the album. Much to everyone's surprise, written with pencil on the back are the words "Lincoln in front of the White House."

If the photo can be authenticated, it would become the only known image of Lincoln in front of the White House. Also included on the back of the photo is the date (1865) , a government tax stamp from the time 1864-1866, and the seal of Henry F. Warren, known to have photographed the "current" last photo of Lincoln.

The collector, Morgan, is the person holding up the photo in the image I've included here. The article states that a computer scan and enlargement of the 2.5" by 3.5" photo shows a very tall figure with a beard in the picture. If it can be authenticated, it will be the first such photo of Lincoln to be so proven in decades. (Historians are still debating whether the "new" photo of "Lincoln" at Gettysburg is authenticate or not).

Keya Morgan is a believer. He paid Grant's great-great grandson $50,000 for this small photo, which is now part of Morgan's $25 million collection of Lincoln memorabilia and photos. The former curator of the National Portrait Gallery's photo department, Will Stapp, is "quite satisfied" that the figure in this photo is Lincoln.

See for yourself in the photo enlargement below. If true, what a find.

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Abe In Etch A Sketch(R) Portrait

Here is an incredible piece of art featuring Mr. Lincoln and President Obama, done entirely with an "Etch A Sketch"(R) toy. This was done by an artist in honor of Black History Month, celebrated in February of every year. I can't find any information about just who created this masterpiece.

Etch A Sketch(R) has been a longtime favorite toy produced by Ohio Art. The name is registered.

I just wanted to share this with my readers. I don't about you, but I can't create even a straight line with these things, let alone something amazing like this.

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Abe And Mardi Gras

Today is Mardi Gras, the last big blowout party before Lent begins tomorrow with Ash Wednesday. New Orleans is rocking today, letting the good times roll.

Abraham Lincoln made two trips to New Orleans as a young man, serving on a flatboat, delivering goods to that port city. His journeys were re-created last year, which I posted about here, here, and here.

A little known story about Abe is that he really enjoyed Mardi Gras while he was in New Orleans. A newly discovered photo of Abe at Mardi Gras has just been announced and I'm proud to publish it here for the first time.

OK, not really. Happy Mardi Gras!

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Great Lincoln Posts At Oxford University Press Blog

I was contacted a few days ago by a blog intern at the Oxford University Press (OUP) informing me of some very interesting articles about Abraham Lincoln posted to the OUPblog. Ms. Megan Branch, a "blog intern" at OUP, asked me to inform my readers about these articles, written by famous authors and Lincoln scholars. I'm happy to oblige her.

The renowned author James McPherson has an article here, which is an excerpt from his book Abraham Lincoln.

The scholar and author Allen Guelzo has a series of FAQ's about Lincoln on the blog in three parts. You may find part one here; part two here; and the final post here.

Here is a highly interesting post about how Lincoln almost failed from Jennifer Weber, author of COPPERHEADS: The Rise And Fall Of Lincoln's Opponents In The North.

Finally, the OUPblog contains this post by 2009 Lincoln Prize co-winner Craig L. Symonds, a comparison between Lincoln and Obama.

Check out these posts for excellent insight into Lincoln. Thanks to Ms. Branch for bringing them to my and my readers' attention.

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Abe In The 21st Century

Of the various projects I've heard about being created to honor Abraham Lincoln's 200th Birthday, one of the more innovative and unusual is from Philadelphia's Rosenbach Museum and Library. Titled "21st Century Abe", the project is yet another attempt to answer the age-old questions as to why we continue to be fascinated by this man and why he continues to influence America today?

"21st Century Abe" consists primarily of an interactive website which features rare Lincoln documents; analysis by famed Lincoln scholar Douglas Wilson; and art (both visual and musical). But the most unusual feature of this website is that it permits users to share videos, essays, other websites, etc. as they pertain to Lincoln. The website permits users to submit their "Lincoln findings" to the site, so others can experience things about Lincoln which otherwise might be missed. For example, I've seen a video featuring former presidential candidate Ron Paul discussing Lincoln; a link to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum; images of Lincoln artwork; and even a video of the "Your Dreams Miss You" commercial featuring Abe pitching a sleep-aid drug. Quite a hodgepodge of Lincoln stuff.

The project has earned the endorsement of the National Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission as well as the Pennsylvania Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. Check it out. It's engaging, interesting, informative, and entertaining. Submit your own Abe finding!

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We Already Realized This About Abe Lincoln

Out today is the latest survey of historians which ranks the nation's presidents in order from best to worst. The survey was commissioned by C-SPAN, which asked 65 top historians to participate. President Obama was not ranked for obvious reasons.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that Abraham Lincoln took top honors. Yes, he has his detractors and historical revisionists, but those who correctly understand American history know that this survey got it right.

Rounding out the top five are George Washington, Franklin Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, and Harry S Truman. The bottom five were James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Franklin Pierce, William Henry Harrison, and Warren G. Harding. I think it's a bit unfair to even rate poor Harrison since he died just one month into his term.

Former president George W. Bush was rated in this poll at 36th out of 42. Although I tend to agree with this ranking, it's probably a bit unfair to rank recent presidents as well. The distance of time has a way of changing opinions of presidents, sometimes dramatically. For example, when Mr. Truman left office, he was highly disliked and ranked very poorly by presidential polls of the time. Now he's considered one of the best. Only time will tell if George W. Bush's ranking will improve. But we all know one rating will remain constant: Abe is the best.

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Stealing Lincoln's Body Debuts On History Channel

A new Lincoln television special debuts tonight (Feb. 16, 2009) on The History Channel at 9:00 p.m. Eastern/8:00 p.m. Central. Titled "Stealing Lincoln's Body," the two hour special documents the bizarre 1870's plot by counterfeiters to steal the body of Abraham Lincoln in order to free their compatriot in crime.

I posted previously (Jan. 5, 2008) about this strange episode in Lincoln history with details that I won't repeat here. Instead, I'll just share a link here to a two minute preview of tonight's special. In this preview, you'll see what looks to be a simple re-enactment by an actor portraying Lincoln. Not exactly. These are incredible digital recreations of Lincoln based on existing photos. For the first time, we have a reasonable recreation of what Lincoln might have looked like as he was walking or otherwise moving.

The company behind this technology is Studio Macbeth, which runs a blog about the new photos and "film" it creates featuring an extremely realistic Mr. Lincoln. Thanks to Maria of Studio Macbeth for bringing it to my attention.

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