Image of Lincoln with Noose

[Dennis Urban]

While recently re-reading Lincoln in the Telegraph Office by David Homer Bates (1907) I was struck by the description of an image of Lincoln with "red ink-spots on the shirt front, with a rope around the neck, the ends being drawn tautly upward" (page 297-298). This image, described as a photograph, was supposedly received through the mail by Mary Lincoln and also found in an envelope on a streetcar in New York City on November 26, 1864 by Thomas Eckert. The image had a connection to Lewis Powell and was again supposedly admitted to by Powell. I don't believe I have read about this image and it's Powell connection elsewhere. While such an image could have been duplicated and sent to the White House and lost by Powell in NYC, I would think such a story, if credible, would have been recounted numerous times. Although Bates story is convincing, I tend to question the veracity of the story and wonder if there is any truth to it.