Museum Acquires Rare Original Ambrotype Photo of Abraham Lincoln
A rare original ambrotype photograph of Abraham Lincoln has been acquired by the museum in the city where the image was taken in 1858.
The Peoria Riverfront Museum now possesses the rare portrait of a beardless Lincoln that was taken in the city of Peoria, Illinois, more than 160 years ago. An ambrotype is an early form of photography that produces an image on a glass plate. Developed in the 1850s, it was a popular and cheaper alternative to daguerreotypes.
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The photograph dates to 1858, when Lincoln was in Peoria preparing to debate Stephen Douglas in the U.S. Senate race. A local photographer named Roderick M. Cole asked to take his picture and after some hesitation, Lincoln agreed.
Cole captured the portrait of Lincoln at his Peoria studio at the corner of Main and Washington streets, using the ambrotype process. Lincoln reportedly favored the 1858 portrait among his early pictures. The picture was later mass-produced as a “carte de visite,” a small paper photographic collectible, and distributed to voters and supporters. The widely circulated photograph helped make Lincoln a household name.
The Peoria Riverfront Museum unveiled the original ambrotype to celebrate the 14th anniversary of the institution’s opening. Chief Curator Bill Conger says the discovery is significant because it is the only known photo of Lincoln taken in Peoria, and it is the original plate, not a reprint.
“So we have not a copy of the first sitting. We have the original glass plate that was with Lincoln in the room at the corner of Main and Washington in 1858,” Conger says, according to a news release. “It is the only image of Lincoln in Peoria, which is why it deserves and really needs to belong in our city.”
Lincoln had a significant connection to Peoria, where he delivered his famed Peoria Speech on October 16, 1854, four years before the photograph was taken. Lincoln’s pivotal address opposed the expansion of slavery into U.S. territories.
According to reports, the image was discovered at a rare book fair in New York City by Daniel Weinberg of the Chicago-based Abraham Lincoln Book Shop Inc. and Seth Kaller, a curator at the Peoria Riverfront Museum.
Weinberg, who has 20 years of experience authenticating historical documents related to Lincoln, confirmed that the photograph is the original. He also consulted extensively with other Lincoln experts, all of whom agreed that this image is the original from which all other ambrotypes were produced. The image is now known by historians as the “Peoria Portrait”.
After decades in private hands, the photograph was acquired by the Peoria Riverfront Museum, where it will remain on display through the end of the year. The museum says the original image will remain in Peoria permanently after the exhibit ends.
Image creditsAll photos via The Peoria Riverfront Museum.
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