The sole purpose of this post is to give information about the photogravure which heads this blog, a blog which considers the Christian testimony of Abraham Lincoln.
Who took the original photo? It was Samuel M. Fassett.
Take a close look at this famous picture by Fassett:
![[Abraham Lincoln, half-length portrait, facing right]](https://cdn.loc.gov/service/pnp/cph/3a10000/3a13000/3a13800/3a13881r.jpg)
Portrait by Samuel M. Fassett from October of 1859.
LC-USZ62-11492
Courtesy of Library of Congress
This portrait is best known to be the one that First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln liked the most!
The Library of Congress has two photos listed together, apparently the same photo, though the second is more of a closeup like the photogravure:
![[Abraham Lincoln, half-length portrait, facing right]](https://cdn.loc.gov/service/pnp/cph/3a10000/3a10000/3a10300/3a10368r.jpg)
Portrait by Samuel M. Fassett from October of 1859.
LC-USZ62-7727
Courtesy of Library of Congress
My discovery of the photogravure all started with a tour in East High School in Denver. (I tell that story at the end of this piece.) That led to an Internet search where I found a 1907 pamphlet advertising the sale of the photogravure by A.W. Elson and Co.
You can check it out at the "Open Library:"
A.W. Elson and Company had copyrighted the photogravure in 1894, and they clearly identified Alexander Hesler as the photographer in their advertisement. They also claimed it came from a daguerreotype.
I assumed the pamphlet was true until one day I was in a bookstore looking at a Lincoln book. I saw this photo in that book, and I recognized it! Hesler was not identified as the photographer, thus I started researching the subject.
Did A.W. Elson make a mistake regarding the photographer? Yes.
And they may have made a mistake saying it came from a daguerreotype. I read information from the Smithsonian Institute, on a web-page which is now gone, and that person said the picture is a Salt Print.
And it is widely stated the "negative" was destroyed in the Chicago fire in 1871. If so, A.W. Elson and Co. would have made the photogravure simply from a print, though they claimed to have a daguerreotype. There remains a bit of a mystery for me on this subject.
In-spite of their big mistake about the identify of the photographer, and in-spite of a possible mistake about their source for their photogravure, I personally am grateful that A.W. Elson and Co. of Boston produced such a magnificent photogravure!
Offering an addition in 2025, I found two photos on the Internet which are a treasures, because they have Fassett's studio mark on the back of the photo.
The source: "Scholars Junction" at Mississippi State University.
Here is the front and the back!!
Fassett Portrait of Lincoln,
Frank and Virginia Williams Collection of Lincolniana,
Mississippi State University Libraries.
I first viewed this great portrait during a tour of East High School in Denver, Colorado, as a part of "Doors Open Denver," in 2013. I was going from the museum room to the observation tower. (East High is quite the exquisite high school. How many high schools have a museum room?) This portrait hung on the wall by the stairwell leading to the tower. (Recognizing it's value, I talked with an administrator at East High the next day to recommend it come under better security surveillance.)
I found the large portrait to be stunning. I stood there for awhile admiring it. I wished I had a camera.
The portrait was a gift from five African-American graduates of East High School, called Denver High School at that time, in appreciation of all Lincoln did for African-Americans. The gift was given on Lincoln's birthday in 1897. I was touched by their gratitude, and I was encouraged by their genuine appreciation for the work and the sacrifice which Abraham Lincoln made for his fellow American citizens.
I am proud to have that photogravure heading this blog. The day I saw this magnificent portrait for the first time was a great day in my life, since it was a personal view of the man who served for the cause of morality, with hope for goodness for all people.
Hunter Irvine
(This piece was edited on 9/6/2025.)
