Seed Pearl Necklace and Bracelets

[James]

Roger and Gene, since your questions/comments are similar, I'll respond to both of you in this reply.
You both seem convinced that only one of the top daguerreotypists in Washington, D.C. (Brady or Gardner) would have taken the photograph. I would disagree with that assessment in lieu of more evidence. It may well have been a lesser known photographer that either Abe or Mary was familiar with and who had privileged access to the couple. One thing that everyone familiar with Mary's personality should be able to agree on is that she would have wanted her place in history cemented as soon as possible by sitting for a formal photograph with her husband, who had just been inaugurated as President of the U.S. It is well documented that she made statements as a teenager to friends that she would someday marry a man who would become president.
Why would the photographer "remain quiet" about such a photograph? Why do you assume that a photograph of the first couple would have been an earth-shattering event at the time? Lincoln was photographed often. Mary less so. I doubt that the photograph would have been held in such high esteem then as it would be today. What about all those photographs of Lincoln that would have been lost to history in the following decades, including those that were found on a warehouse floor in New Jersey by Frederick Hill Meserve? Were those images revered and talked about and commercialized? No. They were forgotten and tossed aside and would have remained so and possibly lost forever if not for Meserve and others like him that saw a need to track down and preserve them four to five DECADES AFTER THE FACT.
A daguerreotype was a one-of-a-kind image. There was no negative. It belonged to the sitter or sitters. It was not the property of the photographer. He had no way to commercialize the image without the consent of the sitters, and even then, how would he do that without being able to produce copies?
Knowing Mary, do you think she would have been pleased with her likeness in the image? Do you think it's reasonable to assume that she was determined to actually prevent it from being published if that was the case? Looking at the image, which of the sitters would have been the driving force behind the formal sitting? I would say Mary. I can't picture Abe actually combing his hair and clutching a cane and wearing the white kid gloves without being guided and prodded by Mary to do so.
And once again Gene, you have an opinion as to the identity, or lack thereof, of the sitters in the image. I prefer to rely on the visual evidence that states unequivocally that it is humanly impossible for the couple to be anyone other than Abraham and Mary Lincoln. We just have to agree to disagree.