Fall 2023 Catalogue

45 “So Essentially Lincolnian; No Other Artist Has Ever Caught It” 50 (LINCOLN, Abraham) HESLER, Alexander. Photograph. Philadelphia, circa 1893. Photograph, measuring 12-3/4 by 16 inches, adhered to mount of the same size, closely framed, entire piece measures 16 by 19 inches. $9200 Striking photographic portrait of Abraham Lincoln shot by photographer Alexander Hesler at his Chicago studio, one of the largest examples of this photograph we have seen. This is one of only two images of Lincoln shot by Alexander Hesler on June 3, 1860 in his Chicago studio. “Alexander Hesler, a noted commercial photographer based in Chicago, arranged two portrait sessions with Lincoln, in 1858 and 1860. “Wrote Lincoln’s law partner, William H. Herndon, ‘There is the peculiar curve of the lower lip, the lone mole on the right cheek, and a pose of the head so essentially Lincolnian; no other artist has ever caught it’” (Hamilton & Ostendorf O-26). Fine condition. “The Mystic Chords Of Memory, Stretching From Every Battlefield, And Patriot Grave, To Every Living Heart And Hearthstone” 51 LINCOLN, Abraham. Inaugural Address of the President of the United States on the Fourth of March, 1861. Special Session. Senate. Executive Document No. 1. Washington, March 8, 1861. Slim octavo, modern three-quarter black morocco, custom clamshell box. $8800 Rare second printing of Lincoln’s important first inaugural address, printed by order of the Senate four days after its delivery. On the morning of March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln was escorted with little fanfare to his inauguration. Anticipating violence, General Winfield Scott had stationed riflemen on housetops along the parade route, as well as platoons and cavalry in the streets. On the platform erected at the Capitol’s east portico, “Lincoln put on a pair of steel-bowed spectacles and began reading his inaugural address in a clear, high-pitched voice that carried well out to the crowd of 25,000. The address was a document of inspired statesmanship. He reminded the South of his pledge not to interfere with slavery, but he firmly rejected secession— the Union was ‘unbroken.’ Finally he issued a grave warning: ‘In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you. You can have no conflict, without being yourselves the aggressors’” (Bruce Catton). Monaghan 102. Small inked numbering at lower margins not affecting text. A fine copy, handsomely bound.

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