Perpetuating Assumptions as Fact

[John E.]

Perpetuating Assumptions as Fact: Part Deux

Barry and I are at it again! We have identified egregious errors by authors Osborn Oldroyd and Mark Katz that wrongly credit photographer Timothy O'Sullivan with assisting Alexander Gardner with the Mug Shot photos of the conspirators and their Execution photos.

This isn't the first time for Oldroyd:
** See "A Peek" Inside The Walls - Supplement for the Surratt Society Conference 2011.

On page 79 of his book, "The assassination of Abraham Lincoln: flight, pursuit, capture, and punishment of the conspirators", Oldroyd changes the wording of an official War Department document to support his own assumption. The document in question comes from Stanton and Wells and gives permission for several people to come onboard the Montauk to view Booth's body.

In Oldroyd's transcription, he includes the name "T. H. O'Sullivan" next to the word "assistant". The original document does not include O'Sullivan's name at all.

Katz makes a similar alteration in his book "Witness To An Era". On page 162, he transcribes a letter written by James A. Wardell (who claimed the autopsy photo existed and was personally responsible for delivering it to Col. Baker and Stanton).

From the letter:

"I went with Gardiner [sic] and the darky and saw that they had a wagon with them and on the seat was another man [O'Sullivan]." Katz was responsible for placing the name O'Sullivan in brackets.

Based upon his initial assumption that O'Sullivan assisted Gardner, Katz goes on to credit O'Sullivan as helping Gardner with the Execution photos too. While its likely Gardner required assistance, we have found NO proof whatsoever to support this claim. In fact Katz takes things a few steps further by claiming Gardner operated the stereoscope camera while O'Sullivan operated the Single lensed camera.

We know that Gardner was adamant that any photographer who worked for him got proper credit. None of the mug shot photos taken on the monitors or on execution day were credited as being taken byTimothy O'Sullivan.

If anyone has any documentation or reference to O'Sullivan being on site either at the Navy Yard or at the Arsenal Penitentiary, we'd like to see it.

Gardner had many assistants, including his brother that could have helped him with the preparation and development process. While he used two cameras on July 7, 1865 - They were close enough together that all he had to do was lift the lens caps simultaneously or just alternate between cameras.