Tad photo?

[Anita]

Heritage Auctions is having an Americana & Political auction Feb.22-23, 2020
https://www.ha.com/heritage-auctions-sch...-political

One of the items is a tintype of Tad Lincoln. I don't think it's Tad. What do you think? Click here to see photo.
https://historical.ha.com/itm/political/...ion-071515

[AussieMick]

I'd suggest that it was the thing to do. ... have your toddler son dressed in uniform and be photographed. So there may be many other tin plates around. Comparing this with the one on Wikipedia of Tad . ... there's a strong similarity. But many 5 year old boys look like other 8 year old boys.

[RJNorton]

Here is the alleged Tad Lincoln photo (left) alongside an actual photo of Tad (right):

[AussieMick]

Now I see the 2 juxtaposition (!) ... thanks Roger .... I reckon it could very well be a younger Tad. The ear is very similar and I seem to recall police using earprints to identify offenders and victims.

[Eva Elisabeth]

Thanks for sharing, Anita - of all "unknown Tad photos" I've seen this is resembling Tad the most.

[RJNorton]

Despite the definite similarity, I am not sure, but leaning somewhat toward a "no." Provenance is key when it comes to photos like this, and in the description it says, "We assume it was during his time at the Capitol that Crounse acquired the photograph, possibly gifted to him by the First Lady." To me, anyway, this provenance is not enough to say the boy is definitely Tad.

[LincolnMan]

Despite the definite similarity, I am not sure, but leaning somewhat toward a "no." Provenance is key when it comes to photos like this, and in the description it says, "We assume it was during his time at the Capitol that Crounse acquired the photograph, possibly gifted to him by the First Lady." To me, anyway, this provenance is not enough to say the boy is definitely Tad.

Agree. It does look like him though.

[Gene C]

I agree with Roger. I think the provenance is weak.

[Susan Higginbotham]

It certainly looks like him to me.

[RJNorton]

Please go here for more arguments for and against. I think the ears in the two photos look alike, but the eyebrows look different (to my aging eyes). The photo on that web page is brighter than what I posted, and IMO, the resemblance to Tad (except for the ear) looks somewhat less to me.

[Anita]

There is good resemblance to Tad but the weak provenance is what bothered me.
I Googled Corporal Amos Crounse. The Tad photo might have been part of this collection auctioned by the Oakridge Auction Gallery in Virginia.

Lot 31
Corporal Amos Crounse Archive - 152nd NY Inf.
https://www.oakridgeauctiongallery.com/details/862

[Steve]

The boy in the photo kind of looks like Tad... but the uniform the boy is wearing doesn't match the uniform Tad is wearing in the Brady and Gardner photos.

Here's a link to the Wikimedia Commons page with photos of Tad from the National Archives:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Tad_Lincoln

Tad's uniform has dark blue pants (matching the shirt color) with gold stripes running down the pant legs. The boy in the photo has a lighter shade of blue pants than Tad's with a (thicker) dark blue stripe (possibly red?) running down the leg. Tad's cap has the US wreath officer's crest while the boy has no cap crest. Tad's uniform has a three star general rank shoulder rank insignia while the boy doesn't appear to wear any rank insignia. The boy's uniform also has shoulder straps that are missing from Tad's uniform

[Anita]

Steve, I agree the uniforms don't match up. Knowing Tad and how proud he was to be a Buckskin soldier, a generic wouldn't do. Then again, Tad is said to have had several uniforms.

Is the uniform referred to here the same as the one Stanton had made?

"1. When 9-year-old Tad Lincoln first came with his family to live on the grounds of the Soldiers’ Home in the summer of 1862, he was lonely. He was in mourning for his older brother Willie, his best friend and playmate, who had died earlier that year.
2. The Presidential security guard, Co. K of the 150 Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry also known as the “Bucktail” Soldiers, who resided in tents on the grounds, helped to lift Tad’s spirits by welcoming him into their midst. One sergeant recalled that Tad
became “a great favorite of the company.”
3. As an “honorary” Bucktail soldier, Tad was issued a small military uniform and was given the unofficial title of “Third Lieutenant.” Tad drilled and shared meals with the soldiers. At the end of the day, he often came home quite dirty from these activities and
from the soot of the campfires, much to his mother Mary’s dismay." https://www.lincolncottage.org/10-things...iers-home/

The auction image date for the photo is vague. "We believe this image was taken early in the war, circa 1862."

[AussieMick]

If the image is circa 1862 then Tad would be 9. I think the boy is younger. ... maybe 6 or 7. The one on the right looks older.
My thinking was Tad was photographed twice . .... maybe 1861.... in the photographer 's standard costume and later in the gifted one .... yes, all guesses on my part. The one the right is c. 1864 according to Wikipedia which puts Tad at 11 years old .... much older than the Left image.

[Anita]

If the image is circa 1862 then Tad would be 9. I think the boy is younger. ... maybe 6 or 7. The one on the right looks older.
My thinking was Tad was photographed twice . .... maybe 1861.... in the photographer 's standard costume and later in the gifted one .... yes, all guesses on my part. The one the right is c. 1864 according to Wikipedia which puts Tad at 11 years old .... much older than the Left image.

I agree. Tad would be nine and the image in the auction photo looks much younger. Without knowing where or when the photo was taken and how Corporal Crounse came by it, it's all guesses. I know of no photos taken of Tad in his military uniform with the Bucktail soldiers, at the Old Soldiers' Home. That would help.