Abraham Lincoln photogravure from Fassett

   The sole purpose of this post is to give information about the photogravure which heads this blog concerning the Christian conviction of Abraham Lincoln.
   First viewed by myself during a tour of East High School in Denver, Colorado, as a part of "Doors Open Denver," I was going from the museum room to the observation tower.  (East High is quite the historic and exquisite high school I quickly learned.  How many high schools have a museum room?)  On the stairwell leading to the tower, this portrait hung.  (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.  Then I even had a conversation about Lincoln with a nice mother and daughter who noticed me admiring the photogravure.
   The portrait was a gift from five African-American graduates of East High, 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.
   Who took the original photo?  It was Samuel M. Fassett.
Take a close look at this famous picture by Fassett:


Portrait by Samuel M. Fassett from October of 1859.
LC-USZ62-11492
Courtesy of Library of Congress
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2009630657/

   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:


Portrait by Samuel M. Fassett from October of 1859.
LC-USZ62-7727
Courtesy of Library of Congress
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2009630657/

   I did have an adventure learning who the photographer was, because at first I found it on the Internet from a 1907 pamphlet advertising the sale of the photogravure by A.W. Elson and Co.  They clearly identified Alexander Hesler as the photographer.  Check it out at the "Open Library:"
https://archive.org/stream/portraitsofabrah00awel#page/n1/mode/2up
    A.W. Elson and Co. copyrighted the photogravure in 1894, and not only did they claim the photographer was Hesler, they said it came from a daguerreotype.
   I assumed the pamphlet was true until one day I saw Samuel Fassett's photo in a book in a bookstore.  I recognized it!  Then I started researching the subject.
   During my research I found a cool article by a Mr. Ralph Deeds who has his own story about this photogravure, and his own search to discover the photographer.  You can read his article from this link:

http://ralphdeeds.hubpages.com/hub/Portrait-of-Abraham-Lincoln-c-1859-by-Samuel-Montegue-Fassett

   Did A.W. Elson make a mistake regarding the photographer?  Yes.  And they may have made a mistake saying it came from a daguerreotype.  The first print I showed from the Library of Congress site is a Salt Print according to the Smithsonian Institute:

http://www.civilwar.si.edu/lincoln_byfassett.html#
   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.  Yet maybe they had a negative from the Fassett sitting which we do not know about.  This remains a bit of a mystery for me.
   The big mistake about the photographer acknowledged, I personally am grateful A.W. Elson and Co. of Boston produced such a magnificent photogravure!
   The day I saw this magnificent portrait for the first time was a great day in my life, and I am proud to have that photogravure heading this blog.  And that day I learned in a personal manner of five African-Americans who lived in Denver, Colorado, who had genuine appreciation for the work and the sacrifice Abraham Lincoln made for his fellow American citizens and for the cause of morality concerning all human beings.
Hunter
(This piece was edited on 10/29/2017.)