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1864 Rare Alexander Gardner Silver Gelatin Photograph of ABRAHAM LINCOLN by Rice

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:600.00 USD Estimated At:1,000.00 - 2,000.00 USD
1864 Rare Alexander Gardner Silver Gelatin Photograph of ABRAHAM LINCOLN by Rice
Abraham Lincoln Related
c. 1864 Huge Silver Gelatin Photograph of Abraham Lincoln by Moses Parker Rice from the Gardner Negative
c. 1864 Silver Gelatin Photograph of Abraham Lincoln, by Moses Parker Rice, from the original negative by Alexander Gardner taken November 8, 1863, in Washington, D.C., Choice Very Fine.
This large unretouched Abraham Lincoln portrait by American reproduction photograph Moses Parker Rice is from the original negative by Alexander Gardner taken November 8, 1863, in Washington, D.C. Silver Gelatin Photo measures 10.5” x 12.875” with a 16.25” x 20” matting. Overall light age toning and some foxing, along with small pencil notation at bottom: “Unretouched portrait by Moses P. Rice, Washington D.C., 1864 Copyright.” It is not a crisp, rich looking or sharp as the orignal collodian images. Moses Parker Rice (1839-1925), possibly one of Gardner’s former assistants, copyrighted this portrait in the late nineteenth century, along with other photographs by Gardner. Scholars and enthusiasts alike believe this portrait of Abraham Lincoln, taken on November 8, 1863, eleven days before his famed Gettysburg Address, to be the best photograph of him ever taken. Lincoln’s character was notoriously difficult to capture in pictures, but Alexander Gardner’s close-up portrait, quite innovative in contrast to the typical full-length portrait style, comes closest to preserving the expressive contours of Lincoln’s face and his penetrating gaze.
Moses Parker Rice came to the District of Columbia in 1861 from Nova Scotia and established his first photography studio on Pennsylvania Avenue. He was a photographer in the District for more than 50 years. He was known for his photographs of notable people, including Abraham Lincoln.

He was married to Ellen Douglas Graham of New York, who died in 1916. He died at the age of 86 years on Wednesday, March 18, 1925 at his apartment at 3151 Mount Pleasant Street. The funeral was in charge of National Lodge, No. 12, F.A.A.M., of which he was a longtime member.