Sarah Bush Johnston photograph

[Steve]

I just have to point something out, the new photo of Sarah had an inscription on the back which read:

Sally Bush - Abraham Lincoln's Stepmother - Thomas Lincoln's second wife

According to the article the use of the nickname "Sally" is used as evidence of authenticity even though the history of the photograph before 1968 is unknown. They feel use of the nickname is an indication that a family member wrote the inscription. But the use of the name "Sally" for Lincoln's stepmother was not unknown in literature before than.

It was used by Nicolay in 1902:
https://books.google.com/books?id=8q6z_T...22&f=false

and Louis Warren in 1926:
https://books.google.com/books?id=iRlCAA...hDoAQhBMAU

and in magazine articles from the 1930's:
https://books.google.com/books?id=nIPRAA...hDoAQhUMAk

and in plays:
https://books.google.com/books?id=usnfAA...BDoAQgtMAI

So the inscription could've been written by any Lincoln enthusiast prior to 1968. It also doesn't read like it was written by an immediate family member.