Conspirator's Portraits

[L Verge]

Thanks for the explanation, Dave, but I am not sure that Mr. Hall's copy of the original (ca. 1850) was reproduced over and over again. He kept that photo close to his chest at the request of the family and also because he intended (and had permission) to use it for the first time in his proposed book, Murder at Ford's Theatre -- which never came to fruition after he turned his efforts on Come Retribution with Tidwell and Gaddy.

When he gave rights to the photo to the Surratt Society, I believe that it was about the only duplicate that left his hands. We have allowed a few others to publish it, but it is not that many generations evolved from the original. Hall's guarding the original duplications was one of the reasons that he was upset when he could not determine what happened to the negatives and proofs when Harris & Ewing went out of business.

Susan - I had my keeper of the photographic archives here check the copies of the ca. 1865 CDV - nothing on the back. There were so many photographers in Washington, D.C. during the Civil War that it is anyone's guess. Lots were lined up one right after the other on Pennsylvania Avenue in the same area where Brady's Studio was (and where the building still stands).

Unfortunately, I am hearing more and more stories about folks who are having photos that they own pirated by bloggers and authors nowadays when they share with others. Be careful what you pass on for others to see. You may find them online with someone else's watermark on them.

P.S. I forgot to mention that the medium on which the photograph is printed would make a difference in some features, I would imagine (i.e. paper, vs. glass or metal)? I suspect that the Harris & Ewing paper version softened the original image.