“FERVENTLY DO WE PRAY—THAT THIS MIGHTY SCOURGE OF WAR MAY SPEEDILY PASS AWAY”: ORIGINAL 1864 CAMPAIGN RIBBONS WITH TWO FAMOUS LINCOLN PORTRAITS

LINCOLN, Abraham. Two portrait campaign ribbons. [No place, 1864]. Original white silk with brass pin, measuring 2-1/2 by 3 inches and original white silk, measuring 2-1/2 by 5 inches; handsomely matted and framed, entire piece measures 8 by 14 inches. $4800.

Two handsome second-campaign ribbons with portraits of Lincoln, one based on Mathew Brady’s famous photograph (later used for the five-dollar bill), the other one an 1859 photograph by Samuel M. Fassett.

Lincoln's second campaign, against Democrat George McClellan (the General Lincoln removed from command for his delays and indecisions), resulted in a landslide victory, "owing partly to a policy of letting soldiers go home to vote" (Foner & Garraty, 338). The first ribbon, attached to a brass pin in the shape of an eagle, reproduces the famous Brady photograph of Lincoln, "the one Robert Lincoln spoke of as being the best likeness of his father" (Meredith, 85)—later used for the five-dollar bill. The second ribbon, designed for Illinois delegates, bears the image of a young beardless Lincoln based on the 1859 photograph by Samuel M. Fassett, the original negative of which perished in the Chicago Fire. "Mrs. Lincoln considered it the best likeness of her husband that she had ever seen" (Miller, 29). Beneath the portrait is printed the opening line of the Gettysburg Address.

Very faint spotting to both ribbons (not affecting images). Most desirable.