Sought-after photograph of Lincoln in near-profile, 7.5 x 9.75, printed by George B. Ayres circa 1881 from the original negative taken by Alexander Hesler in Springfield, Illinois, in 1860. A copyright stamp, “G. E. Ayres, Copyright 1881,” is impressed in the lower right corner. Affixed to its original 8 x 10 mount, notated on the reverse in ink by Ayres, “Copyright, Geo. B. Ayres, Phila.” In fine condition, with a trivial stain to the top edge of the mount, and toning and mounting remnants to reverse. Chicago photographer Alexander Hesler traveled to Springfield for his sitting with Lincoln in early June of 1860, just weeks after the latter secured the Republican presidential nomination. Following the close of the Civil War, George Ayres acquired two of Hesler's original negatives and made a living selling prints of them from the 1880s through the turn of the century. A magnificent portrait of the Great Emancipator, considered one of the finest ever taken—by both the general public and the president himself.
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