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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;2manybooks, post: 1504625, member: 8267&quot;]Hello Mr. Mason,</p><p><br /></p><p>In several entries on this thread, I explained my reasons to doubt the identification of your daguerreotype. I did not see a reason to spend time going into further detail as, for me, simply looking at the faces was sufficient to see they are not Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln. I have seen numerous historic photographs of Abraham Lincoln, as well as the few that exist of Mary Todd Lincoln. By the same means that we are able to recognize a friend on the street, or in a photograph, I can see that these are not the same people.</p><p><br /></p><p>However, I can go into more detail on several points that support my view.</p><p><br /></p><p>You contend that your daguerreotype was taken in March of 1861. The style of the mat and preserver (the gold foil wrapped around the edges of the image, mat and cover glass) are more typical of the period between the late 1840’s and first half of the 1850’s. (<a href="http://www.phototree.com/id_dag.htm" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.phototree.com/id_dag.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.phototree.com/id_dag.htm</a>)&nbsp; 1861 would be quite late in the popularity of the daguerreotype process. Collodion wet plate photography was introduced in the mid 1850’s, and was in general use by the early 1860’s. The prominent photographer Mathew Brady, for example, who made many of the official portraits of Lincoln, had transitioned to wet plate photography by 1860. The wet plate process created glass negatives, from which multiple images could be printed on paper. While a daguerreotype would not be impossible in 1861, it seems unlikely that a record of such an important time would be made in what was then an “old fashioned” technology.</p><p><br /></p><p>A second major anachronism is the dress of the woman in your daguerreotype. This style, with the dropped shoulders, flaring sleeves, a low, pointed waist, and cartridge pleated skirt, decorated with ribbons, pleats and lace, is typical of mid-century styles – 1845-1855. Her hairstyle is also more consistent with the mid-century. (<a href="https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1840-1849/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1840-1849/" rel="nofollow">https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1840-1849/</a>, <a href="https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1850-1859/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1850-1859/" rel="nofollow">https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1850-1859/</a>)</p><p>Note that this corresponds with the estimated date of the daguerreotype itself. Mary Todd Lincoln was notoriously fashion conscious. It seems unlikely that she would be wearing anything but the latest fashion on the day of the inauguration.</p><p>Mary Todd Lincoln in her inaugural gown:</p><p><img src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/01/20/fashion/20INAUGURAL-GOWNS1/20INAUGURAL-GOWNS1-superJumbo.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2017/01/20/style/a-look-back-at-inaugural-ball-dresses.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2017/01/20/style/a-look-back-at-inaugural-ball-dresses.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2017/01/20/style/a-look-back-at-inaugural-ball-dresses.html</a></p><p>And her dress for the Washington winter social season, 1861-1862:</p><p><img src="http://ids.si.edu/ids/deliveryService?id=NMAH-2008-9506-000002&amp;max=1000" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><a href="https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1359703" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1359703" rel="nofollow">https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1359703</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Although it seems fruitless to argue any fine points of physiognomy with you, I would also point out that the documented photographs of Abraham Lincoln around this time period show that he preferred to wear his beard with a slight notch on the sides – the goatee part extending upward on either side of the mouth. The man in your daguerreotype has a clean shaven line along the top of his beard.</p><p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f9/1860_Abraham_Lincoln_O-40.png/200px-1860_Abraham_Lincoln_O-40.png" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p>Photograph by Samuel Altschuler, November 25, 1860.</p><p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/Abraham_Lincoln_O-49_by_Gardner%2C_1861.jpg/200px-Abraham_Lincoln_O-49_by_Gardner%2C_1861.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p>Photograph by Alexander Gardner, February 14, 1861.</p><p>Both of these from:</p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_photographs_of_Abraham_Lincoln" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_photographs_of_Abraham_Lincoln" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_photographs_of_Abraham_Lincoln</a>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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