What person on the fringes of the Lincoln assassination story had one of the world's largest collections of beetles in the 19th century?

Henry Ulke. However, please credit Rich Smyth and Dave Taylor, as I learned that from them.

Absolutely correct for all three. Frank Hebblethwaite, former curator/manager at Ford's Theatre once told us about the many remains of beetles (as well as glass photography plates) that were found years back when some repairs were being made to floorboards at the Petersen House. I believe that Henry's collection finally went to the "National Museum," now the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History.

Henry Ulke, friend of Lincoln, border at Petersen House, accomplished portrait painter, and collector of beetles. " This was a sideline for his own pleasure and these pieces remained in family hands until now. This artistic aspect of his work fits with another facet of the man, that he was a member of the Academy of Sciences in Philadelphia and an avid collector of beetles. He spent countless hours in the woods and amassed tens of thousands of beetles over his lifetime, a collection he sold in 1900 to the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh."

http://www.artfixdaily.com/artwire/relea...ln-for-sal

   

Anita is quite right; it was the Carnegie Museum that bought Henry Ulke's beetle collection. Henry was a very talented individual. I found this link recently: http://www.artfixdaily.com/artwire/relea...ln-for-sal


Question: Do we know whether it was Henry or his brother, Julian, who photographed the Lincoln death bed? I always hear Henry mentioned more in history, but I have seen reference to Julian being the photographer of the pair. Henry preferred painting.

---

After posting the above link, I could not get it to open for the forum. Here's the text of the exhibit announcement from June of 2013 sans drawings. I can still open the page on my computer, and hopefully you will be able to also.

Twenty Unknown Drawings by Close Friend of Abraham Lincoln for Sale During London Art Week

LONDON, United Kingdom -- 19 June 2013

Carl Ulke, Victoria Regia, graphite, watercolour and inscription, signed and dated, 193 x 305 mm
Carl Ulke, Victoria Regia, graphite, watercolour and inscription, signed and dated, 193 x 305 mm
(Crispian Riley-Smith Fine Arts Ltd)
FROM AN EXTRAORDINARY COLLECTION OF 20 BOTANICAL PICTURES BY CARL AND HENRY ULKE
.
(ArtfixDaily.com)
A collection of 20 hidden artworks by a close friend of Abraham Lincoln, that have never been seen in public before and never offered for sale, have emerged on the market during London Art Week.

Crispian Riley-Smith Fine Arts Ltd presents this collection of botanical pictures, which have come directly through the artists' family. These 20 pictures by father and son artists, Carl and Henry Ulke, are part of an exhibition opening on June 28, 2013, during Master Drawings and Sculpture Week, part of London Art Week, called The Art of Botanical Pictures: Still Lifes and Plants.

The father, Carl Ulke (1791-1882) spent most of his life in Germany and was by profession a typesetter and publisher. These art works remained in trunks in the family archive until now. Carl Ulke ran a lodge for boarders and had a small art gallery, and from the exquisite botanicals, we can assume that he was Henry Ulke’s first teacher.

Henry's autobiography mentions his father painting, but more in the context of Henry as a young child coveting his father's pencils. Carl visited the US several times, most probably to visit family members, including his son Henry but went back to Germany and died there. These watercolours are remarkable in their skill and ability and come from a tradition of botanical drawing in Germany such as Georg Dionysius Ehret and Barbara Regina Dietzsch. The fact that this artist has not been seen on the market before can be simply explained by the fact that the pieces have remained with the family.

Henry Ulke was born in Frankenstein in southern Prussia in Germany in 1821 and died in Washington D.C. in 1910. The life of Henry was quite extraordinary. One of his claims to fame is his portrait of President Ulysses S. Grant which hangs in the White House. Henry Ulke is a famous portrait painter with more than 300 portraits in US government and private collections today. He had connections socially and politically to the presidents, indeed he was one of the few eyewitnesses of the tragic death of President Lincoln. After the president had been shot in Ford’s Theatre he was carried across the street to Peterson house in which Henry Ulke and his brother resided.

Henry Ulke was not known outside his immediate family to have painted botanicals. This was a sideline for his own pleasure and these pieces remained in family hands until now. This artistic aspect of his work fits with another facet of the man, that he was a member of the Academy of Sciences in Philadelphia and an avid collector of beetles. He spent countless hours in the woods and amassed tens of thousands of beetles over his lifetime, a collection he sold in 1900 to the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh.

Henry Ulke’s abilities also extended to writing and before his emigration to the US he contributed to a comic publication ‘Kladderadatsch’, as well as the revolutionary ‘Rütli Zeitungen’, circa 1845-6, and was associated with freedom aspiring enthusiasts such as Titus Ullrich in Berlin. In 1852 Henry emigrated to America to join two of his younger brothers who had already moved there. Henry busied himself with photographic work and prepared daguerreotypes. He also produced photographic portrait prints of famous individuals of the period and was so successful that he was able to invite his parents and brothers and sister to join to him at his expense. In 1860 Henry set up in Washington a studio for portrait painting and photography. Henry was clearly a man of great intellect and travelled back to Germany and Europe between 1868 and 1870 and in Weimer mixed with some of the greatest composers and literati of the day including Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner.

Also included in the exhibition of The Art of Botanical Pictures: Still Lifes and Plants is an album of 19th century watercolours which is a fascinating discovery. It contains works by female artists from Holland including Cornelia Maria Haakman and Maria Margaretha Van Os.

Where: The Illustration Cupboard, at 22 Bury Street, St.James's, London, SW1Y 6AL
When: 28 June-5 July
Further details:
Crispian Riley-Smith Fine Arts Ltd, Summergill, Kirkby Malham, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 4BS,
England
Tel: +44 (0)1729 830 734
Mobile: +44(0)7771 552509
crispian@riley-smith.com
http://www.riley-smith.com

Categories: general antiques & arts
Related Press Releases

1891 Coca-Cola calendar, possibly the only one in existence, will be sold at auction March 15th
Ecommerce Store Rue Marcellin Launches One Of Kind Interior Art Design Wall Décor Online Shop
An Exceptional Estates Auction at Rago on March 22 - Monumental Silver, Ancient Coins, Presidential Ephemera, Russian Imperial Ware and Classic Furnishings Among the 700+ Offerings
MAJOR EXHIBITION EXPLORES PAUL GAUGUIN’S EXPERIMENTAL WORKS ON PAPER IN CONTEXT WITH HIS MAJOR PAINTINGS AND SCULPTURES AT THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART
Malcolm Rogers, Director of MFA Boston, Announces Future Plans to Retire
Copley Winter Sale Rises Above The Storm, Setting Multiple World Records
Newtown, Connecticut, Will Host New Antiques Show
Original works by de Kooning, Botello, Soutine will headline Elite Decorative Arts' March 15 auction
2014 Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show Smashes All Records
Huanghuali Furniture, Olympian's Ice Skates Soar at Clars Auction

Free e-newsletter sign up

---

After posting the above link, I could not get it to open for the forum. Here's the text of the exhibit announcement from June of 2013 sans drawings. I can still open the page on my computer, and hopefully you will be able to also.

Twenty Unknown Drawings by Close Friend of Abraham Lincoln for Sale During London Art Week

LONDON, United Kingdom -- 19 June 2013

Carl Ulke, Victoria Regia, graphite, watercolour and inscription, signed and dated, 193 x 305 mm
Carl Ulke, Victoria Regia, graphite, watercolour and inscription, signed and dated, 193 x 305 mm
(Crispian Riley-Smith Fine Arts Ltd)
FROM AN EXTRAORDINARY COLLECTION OF 20 BOTANICAL PICTURES BY CARL AND HENRY ULKE
.
(ArtfixDaily.com)
A collection of 20 hidden artworks by a close friend of Abraham Lincoln, that have never been seen in public before and never offered for sale, have emerged on the market during London Art Week.

Crispian Riley-Smith Fine Arts Ltd presents this collection of botanical pictures, which have come directly through the artists' family. These 20 pictures by father and son artists, Carl and Henry Ulke, are part of an exhibition opening on June 28, 2013, during Master Drawings and Sculpture Week, part of London Art Week, called The Art of Botanical Pictures: Still Lifes and Plants.

The father, Carl Ulke (1791-1882) spent most of his life in Germany and was by profession a typesetter and publisher. These art works remained in trunks in the family archive until now. Carl Ulke ran a lodge for boarders and had a small art gallery, and from the exquisite botanicals, we can assume that he was Henry Ulke’s first teacher.

Henry's autobiography mentions his father painting, but more in the context of Henry as a young child coveting his father's pencils. Carl visited the US several times, most probably to visit family members, including his son Henry but went back to Germany and died there. These watercolours are remarkable in their skill and ability and come from a tradition of botanical drawing in Germany such as Georg Dionysius Ehret and Barbara Regina Dietzsch. The fact that this artist has not been seen on the market before can be simply explained by the fact that the pieces have remained with the family.

Henry Ulke was born in Frankenstein in southern Prussia in Germany in 1821 and died in Washington D.C. in 1910. The life of Henry was quite extraordinary. One of his claims to fame is his portrait of President Ulysses S. Grant which hangs in the White House. Henry Ulke is a famous portrait painter with more than 300 portraits in US government and private collections today. He had connections socially and politically to the presidents, indeed he was one of the few eyewitnesses of the tragic death of President Lincoln. After the president had been shot in Ford’s Theatre he was carried across the street to Peterson house in which Henry Ulke and his brother resided.

Henry Ulke was not known outside his immediate family to have painted botanicals. This was a sideline for his own pleasure and these pieces remained in family hands until now. This artistic aspect of his work fits with another facet of the man, that he was a member of the Academy of Sciences in Philadelphia and an avid collector of beetles. He spent countless hours in the woods and amassed tens of thousands of beetles over his lifetime, a collection he sold in 1900 to the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh.

Henry Ulke’s abilities also extended to writing and before his emigration to the US he contributed to a comic publication ‘Kladderadatsch’, as well as the revolutionary ‘Rütli Zeitungen’, circa 1845-6, and was associated with freedom aspiring enthusiasts such as Titus Ullrich in Berlin. In 1852 Henry emigrated to America to join two of his younger brothers who had already moved there. Henry busied himself with photographic work and prepared daguerreotypes. He also produced photographic portrait prints of famous individuals of the period and was so successful that he was able to invite his parents and brothers and sister to join to him at his expense. In 1860 Henry set up in Washington a studio for portrait painting and photography. Henry was clearly a man of great intellect and travelled back to Germany and Europe between 1868 and 1870 and in Weimer mixed with some of the greatest composers and literati of the day including Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner.

Also included in the exhibition of The Art of Botanical Pictures: Still Lifes and Plants is an album of 19th century watercolours which is a fascinating discovery. It contains works by female artists from Holland including Cornelia Maria Haakman and Maria Margaretha Van Os.

Where: The Illustration Cupboard, at 22 Bury Street, St.James's, London, SW1Y 6AL
When: 28 June-5 July
Further details:
Crispian Riley-Smith Fine Arts Ltd, Summergill, Kirkby Malham, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 4BS,
England
Tel: +44 (0)1729 830 734
Mobile: +44(0)7771 552509
crispian@riley-smith.com
http://www.riley-smith.com

Categories: general antiques & arts
Related Press Releases

1891 Coca-Cola calendar, possibly the only one in existence, will be sold at auction March 15th
Ecommerce Store Rue Marcellin Launches One Of Kind Interior Art Design Wall Décor Online Shop
An Exceptional Estates Auction at Rago on March 22 - Monumental Silver, Ancient Coins, Presidential Ephemera, Russian Imperial Ware and Classic Furnishings Among the 700+ Offerings
MAJOR EXHIBITION EXPLORES PAUL GAUGUIN’S EXPERIMENTAL WORKS ON PAPER IN CONTEXT WITH HIS MAJOR PAINTINGS AND SCULPTURES AT THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART
Malcolm Rogers, Director of MFA Boston, Announces Future Plans to Retire
Copley Winter Sale Rises Above The Storm, Setting Multiple World Records
Newtown, Connecticut, Will Host New Antiques Show
Original works by de Kooning, Botello, Soutine will headline Elite Decorative Arts' March 15 auction
2014 Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show Smashes All Records
Huanghuali Furniture, Olympian's Ice Skates Soar at Clars Auction

Free e-newsletter sign up

(03-02-2014 12:16 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Question: Do we know whether it was Henry or his brother, Julian, who photographed the Lincoln death bed? I always hear Henry mentioned more in history, but I have seen reference to Julian being the photographer of the pair. Henry preferred painting.

Laurie, I think it was Julius (Julian) who took the photo.

(03-02-2014 02:10 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  

(03-02-2014 12:16 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Question: Do we know whether it was Henry or his brother, Julian, who photographed the Lincoln death bed? I always hear Henry mentioned more in history, but I have seen reference to Julian being the photographer of the pair. Henry preferred painting.

Laurie, I think it was Julius (Julian) who took the photo.

Roger and Laurie,
Everything I've read says Julius took the photo and yet I can't find any statements made by him or Henry describing events of that night or the next morning. They were both present at Petersen house when Lincoln died, both were photographers and had a photography studio together at 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue. Perhaps they worked together to take the photo.

More information appreciated. Anita

Who is this gentleman?
   

Major Robert Anderson

Excellent, Gene! Kudos! (Venisti, vidisti, vicisti - you came, saw, conquered!)

Well then, who is this gentleman?
   

John Watt?

Shame on me, I gave a wrong hint, I'm very sorry about that!!!!! I posted the question off the top of my head and was sure that this gentleman's name was missing in the first chapter of a book Gene recently recommended (not the very latest one). I just came home and checked and it was not HIS name - so the correct HINT #1 is: he IS mentioned in that book (nevertheless I miss some details about that incident although I enjoy reading the book). I'm very sorry, I should have checked this before giving that hint! (And right today my internet connection doesn't work properly.)

Roger, I'm sorry for misleading you, it is not John Watt.

No problem, Eva! I have never seen a photo of John Watt, and I thought you might have found one. Now that I look back I was wrong on the hint, too. Gene had posted a photo of the White House in winter, and it wasn't a book recommendation. So I was thinking maybe the answer was the White House gardener, John Watt.

Hint #2: I'm referring to the first chapter of a book Gene recently recommended on the thread "Books-Over 15,000 to discuss". The book was also frequently mentioned on other threads on this forum.