Its possible that a new Abraham Lincoln photo has been found. It was found in the private photo album of Ulysses S. Grant by Grant’s great great-grandson, Ulysses S. Grant VI. Experts are examining the photo. See the photo below. Is it the last Lincoln photo taken before his death?
Ulysses S. Grant VI Lincoln Photo
There are approximately 130 known photographs of Abraham Lincoln and now there could very well be another one. Ulysses S. Grant VI is the 38-year-old great great grandson of THE Ulysses S. Grant. He found a photo in Grant’s personal photo albums that appears to show Lincoln standing in front of the White House. If so, then its the first photo ever taken of a President in front of the White House and probably the last photo of Abraham Lincoln before his assassination.
The photo was taken on March 6, 1865 by Henry F. Warren. It shows several people standing in front of the White House. Photography collector Keya Morgan added the 6″4′ graph on the photo to indicate which figure he believes represents Lincoln.
“I was like, ‘I don’t know who this is, Keya,’” said Grant, a Springfield, Mo., construction business owner.
Although authenticating the 2 1/2-by-3 1/2-inch photo beyond a shadow of a doubt could be difficult, several historians who looked at it said the evidence supporting Morgan’s claim is compelling and believable.
Morgan talked Grant into taking the photo out of the album and examining it for clues, such as the identity of the photographer.
“Not knowing who the photographer is is like not knowing who your mother or father is,” Morgan told Grant.
Grant carefully removed it and was shocked to see the handwritten inscription on the back: “Lincoln in front of the White House.” Grant believes his great-grandfather, Jesse Grant, the general’s youngest son, wrote the inscription.
Also included was the date 1865, the seal of photographer Henry F. Warren, and a government tax stamp that was issued for such photos to help the Civil War effort between 1864 and 1866.
Morgan recalled the well-documented story of Warren’s trip to Washington to photograph Lincoln after his second inauguration in March 1865. Lincoln was killed in April, so the photo could be the last one taken of him.
Warren, a commercial photographer from Massachusetts, enticed Lincoln into his frame shortly after the inauguration by taking pictures of young Tad Lincoln and asking the boy to bring his father along for a pose, according to the book, “Lincoln in Photographs: An Album of Every Known Pose,” by Charles Hamilton and Lloyd Ostendorf.
“This is the first act of paparazzi ever toward a president,” Morgan said. “Lincoln is not too happy at all.”
Historians say it has been decades since a newfound Lincoln image was fully authenticated. And in the Grant photo, it’s not obvious to the naked eye who is standing in front of the executive mansion.
You can see the White House, a short gate that once lined the building, and, on the lawn, a Thomas Jefferson statue that was later replaced with a fountain. Five people can be seen standing in front of the building. The tall man’s face is obscured, but zooming in on the image with a computer reveals a telling beard.
“Once you scan it and blow it up, you can see the whole scenario — there’s a giant standing near the White House,” Morgan said.
At 6-foot-4, Lincoln was the tallest U.S. president.
Morgan, who has sold photographs of Lincoln and other historical figures to the Smithsonian Institution, the White House and others, said he purchased the image from Grant for $50,000 in February. It will be added to Morgan’s $25 million collection of Lincoln artifacts and original images.
Other experts say that Morgan has a good case for this being a photo of Lincoln. So what do you think? Is this Lincoln standing in front of the White House?
Perhaps more importantly, what do you think Ulysses S. Grant VI’s friends call him?
Ulysses S. Grant VI Lincoln Photo - Photos
Lincoln Portraits - Video