** NEW DISCOVERY REGARDING BOOTH AUTOPSY PHOTO

[barryssentials]

The debate on whether the Booth autopsy illustration in Harper's Weekly was based on Gardner's photo or not is a great one.

I have spent a lot of time collecting Civil War illustrations and drawings for my own enjoyment. The talent of these artists were excellent. Practiced professional artists didn't need to work from photographs (but they certainly did at times).

The Harper's artist who sketched the autopsy image would have had lots of reference material from life and other sources (including other monitor photos and illustrations).

Monitors were fascinating ships and had been in the public eye since the famous battle between the USS Monitor and the Merrimack (March, 1862). So for over three years, photographs and illustrations were plentiful...as was the visibility of the real things around Washington.

The people shown on the deck were mostly the celebrities of the day and the renderings of the few key players that can be recognized in the Harper's illustration could have been taken from many other sources. If I remember rightly, there were many people on the dock watching the events unfold and if the Montauk was just 100 yards off shore, this artist could have been among them. With the naked eye, it would have been possible to see the general positions of how Booth's body was placed and how the other people stood. As this was only an illustration, it didn't have to be exact. Gardner was one of the attendees and the artist chose to show him in the artwork as well...which begs the question, if a photo really had been taken, then who should have gotten the real credit for it?

All of this is speculation of course and there will always be arguments that can support the theories from both sides. Some will be stronger than others, but one thing is certain, it is fun to hear everyone's viewpoint on the matter. Because one day, these 'debates' will spark an idea that will lead someone to find the absolute truth. Barry