[Abraham Lincoln, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing slightly left, taken in Pittsfield, Illinois, two weeks before the final Lincoln-Douglas debate in Lincoln's unsuccessful bid for the Senate, October 1, 1858] – Historic Photograph Print
![[Abraham Lincoln, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing slightly left, taken in Pittsfield, Illinois, two weeks before the final Lincoln-Douglas debate in Lincoln's unsuccessful bid for the Senate, October 1, 1858], 1858 October 1. — historic photograph](https://images.jameslantos.com/img/43/4362b7cf01e9-L.webp)
(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)
Description
This historic photograph of [Abraham Lincoln, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing slightly left, taken in Pittsfield, Illinois, two weeks before the final Lincoln-Douglas debate in Lincoln's unsuccessful bid for the Senate, October 1, 1858] brings a moment of history to your wall. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.
Order it framed and ready to hang, or unframed to match a frame you already love. It makes a striking addition to a living room, study or office, and a thoughtful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past has been bringing history to the wall since 2001, for tens of thousands of customers worldwide.
[Abraham Lincoln, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing slightly left, taken in Pittsfield, Illinois, two weeks before the final Lincoln-Douglas debate in Lincoln's unsuccessful bid for the Senate, October 1, 1858]
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Taken in Pittsfield, Illinois, on October 1, 1858, this ambrotype shows Lincoln two weeks before his last debate with Stephen A. Douglas, in the middle of his campaign for the U.S. Senate. The ambrotype, a glass-plate process, was cheaper and quicker than the daguerreotype and had become the common studio format by the late 1850s, so portraits like this one reached far more people. Lincoln lost the Senate race when the Illinois legislature chose Douglas, but the campaign raised his national profile and helped set up his 1860 presidential run. In this head-and-shoulders view, he appears steady and serious, a look that viewers often connect with the debates that made his name.
| Created / published | 1858 October 1. |
|---|---|
| Medium | 1 photograph : ambrotype, quarter plate. |
| Genre | D.C. |
| Subjects | Title devised by Library staff. Ostendorf, no. 10 Meserve, no. 12 A laterally reversed feference copy is in PRES FILE - Lincoln, Abraham--Meserve no. 12. Gift; Louis M. Rabinowitz; 1952. Published in: Lincoln's photographs: a complete album / by Lloyd Ostendorf. Dayton, OH: Rockywood Press, 1998, p. 22-3. Exhibited: With Malice Toward None : The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Exhibition" at the Library of Congress |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 4,735 × 5,900 px · prints to 16 × 20 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | AMZ-SOTP-HPA-226812 |
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