Nancy Hanks' lineage

[L Verge]

(03-02-2016 04:51 PM)Steve Whitlock Wrote:  Roger,

First of all I apologize for my flippant opening paragraph in my previous post! After reading the article you graciously provided, and imbued with some guilt for my statements, I will at least make an attempt to find something more conclusive than I currently have to either prove or disprove the Thomas Lincoln photo. The genealogical reward if it is truly a photo of Thomas Lincoln is too compelling to be dismissive out of hand.

In the meantime I'm struck by the sloppy circle that seems amateurish for the photo. Has a photo been cut and placed on a mat, or the hole in a mat been cut out? Efforts should also continue to firmly establish whether the photo is daguerrotype or ambrotype. I'm not qualified to do that.

I know very little about photography (even modern photography), but the seemingly matted photo posted here seemed strange to me also. It certainly seems to be a paper photo matted on paper of some sort. Could they reproduce paper copies from daguerreotypes or ambrotypes of that era? Is this what the real thing looks like at the museum?

I have also fussed over the clothing. The sleeve line isn't what I would call tight and straight, but the deep, rounded lapel of the waistcoat is what has me wondering about the period. The width of and overall size of men's bow ties during the 19th century can also pinpoint down to decades. I just haven't had time to pursue the issue.