Screenshot
An anonymous image surfaced during a bustling New York photo fair, coinciding with the AIPAD New York Photo Week in a recent year. The portrait depicts a man bearing a striking resemblance to President Lincoln. While it’s possible that this individual could be a Lincoln look-alike, it’s crucial to understand the historical context of this image’s creation.
The portrait is a daguerreotype, a photographic process that by 1860-1861 had abruptly and almost completely vanished from use. This rapid disappearance coincided with the period when Lincoln was contemplating growing his iconic whiskers after his election as President.
The daguerreotype, invented in 1839, was the first commercially successful photographic method. However, its decline in the late 1850s was swift and absolute. By 1860, the daguerreotype had been almost entirely supplanted by newer, more efficient techniques such as the ambrotype and the collodion wet plate process. The transition was so complete that by 1861, only a handful of studios in major cities could still produce daguerreotypes, and even these were rare.
All the American men who wished to ressemble the President started to grow their beard only after the daguerreotype process vanishes. Then, if the model is not a Lincoln look-alike, if Lincoln has no twin, what can we consider ?
Therefore, if we eliminate all those who wished to ressemble him, what is the probability of a natural doppelganger existing for such an extraordinary figure ? And without any comment at any moment ? It was logical to search for documented traces of a daguerreotype at the frontier moment when Abraham Lincoln began growing his beard.
The intriguing possibility arises: could this anonymous portrait be the long-lost daguerreian image of President-elect Abraham Lincoln? Lincoln biographers and iconographers have long mentioned the existence of this elusive portrait, reportedly taken during a stop on Lincoln’s inaugural journey in Clyde, NY, in February 1861.
This information raises the tantalizing prospect that the anonymous portrait may, indeed, be the missing daguerreian likeness of President Lincoln. However, the definitive confirmation of this theory hinges on further evidence and verification.
The essay provides readers with information and evidence to consider, allowing them to form their own opinions or convictions about the portrait’s identity. Ultimately, it is up to the reader to determine whether they believe this portrait could be the elusive daguerreian portrait of President Lincoln, based on the presented information.
We encourage everyone to form their own opinions, as it is equally relevant to validate the cluster of clues, as it is to explore any evidence that might challenge this intriguing hypothesis.
By clicking on the links below, you can access and download two PDF versions in two different sizes.