Lincoln Conspirators Post-Execution Photo - Conspirators Still Hanging

This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/27/2023

A photograph showing a panoramic view of Washington's Old Arsenal Penitentiary courtyard taken from the Arsenal rooftop in the moments after the execution of the Lincoln conspirators; the scaffold is "in use," according to the Library of Congress catalog entry, and the bodies can be seen suspended from the scaffold. Printed ca. 1910, from the personal collection of world-renowned Lincoln collector Frederick H. Meserve (1865-1962). The photo is housed in construction paper wrappers and inscribed in Meserve's hand as: "General View of Scaffold / and Prison after Execution." The sepia-colored photograph is hand-stamped "Collection / Of / Americana / Frederick H. Meserve / 265 Edgecombe Avenue / New York City" verso. Expected wear including isolated gentle wrinkles, else near fine and quite crisp. The actual size of the photo is 7" x 5." The slotted inner wrapper, and the annotated double-hole punched outer wrappers, show expected wear including slightly blunted corners. The wrappers measure approximately 9.125" x 13."The photograph of "General View of Scaffold / and Prison after Execution" was originally taken by Alexander Gardner (1821-1882), who was hired by the federal government to document the imprisonment and execution of the alleged conspirators. We do not know whether Meserve printed these photographs from original negatives, however, the level of sharpness evidenced here may indicate that that is the case.

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