The Donald P. Dow Collection of Lincolniana Auction (1/24/2015)

[Anita]

Thanks for the link Gene.

One of the Dow Collection items shown in the Railsplitter article is "A fragment of a letter written by Lincoln to Reverdy Johnson on July 26, 1862 though containing a mere eleven words is, in true Lincolnesque fashion, pregnant with meaning and straight to the point. “I shall not surrender this game leaving any available card unplayed.” $12,500."

So many of Lincoln's letters were cut up and sold as fragments. Did owners make copies before cutting? Where is the rest of the above letter?

[Susan Higginbotham]

Items from the collection are now popping up on eBay. After a very stressful minute fending off another bidder, Mary is coming in the mail to me:

[Lincoln Wonk]

Thanks for the link Gene.

One of the Dow Collection items shown in the Railsplitter article is "A fragment of a letter written by Lincoln to Reverdy Johnson on July 26, 1862 though containing a mere eleven words is, in true Lincolnesque fashion, pregnant with meaning and straight to the point. “I shall not surrender this game leaving any available card unplayed.” $12,500."

So many of Lincoln's letters were cut up and sold as fragments. Did owners make copies before cutting? Where is the rest of the above letter?

Wow. Congrats. It's beautiful.

[L Verge]

It is beautiful. Is it me, or does she have a touch of sadness around the eyes that you usually do not see in the full-length view? Perhaps because it shows the face more closely?

[RJNorton]

Hi Susan. Do you know if this is a lithograph?

[Susan Higginbotham]

No idea, unfortunately. It was sold at the Dow auction as part of a lot of carte de visites of Mary, and I didn't see any description of the individual CDVs. There's a two-cent tax stamp on the back of mine.

I've been spending way too much time looking at CDVs on eBay lately (mostly of ordinary people). On the other hand, I did stumble into an original newspaper photograph depicting one of Nora Fitzpatrick's grandsons (he was one of the survivors of a Coast Guard seaplane accident in 1939 that killed several people).

[Houmes]

Hi Susan. Do you know if this is a lithograph?

Yes, it is a lithograph or a similar printing process. It's a variant of the original albumen photograph ML-O9, taken by Brady in 1861. Quite a bit of retouching was performed on this copy, which was also not uncommon in the president's idealized images.

[STS Lincolnite]

Hi Susan. Do you know if this is a lithograph?

To my eye, it does appear to be a lithograph. I found this photo online - it looks like it may be an image from which a lithograph of this type might be made.