1863 JOHN WILKES BOOTH / ABRAHAM LINCOLN ASSASSIN ALBUMEN CDV PHOTO BACK TURNED

Description

Exceptionally rare and original, 1860's CDV Photograph of John Wilkes Booth, Assassin of President Abraham Lincoln, taken in 1863 (before the "famous" actor became the infamous assassin) by C. D. Fredricks of New York City. This outstanding, period photograph measures approx. 2 1/4” by 3 1/2” and is mounted on its original, square cornered CDV Card Mount (overall size of card mount is 2 1/2" by 4").
This is an exceptionally rare portrait of Booth – pictured in ¾ length and standing mostly with his back to the camera. He has turned slightly to his left with his left hand at his waist, his right hand reaching toward a handkerchief in his vest pocket and his face pictured in profile. This style pose is exceptionally rare in any 19th century portrait photograph and here Booth appears to be emphasizing his Thespian manner. The mount is blank backed with no photographer’s mark however this portrait is identified as Gutman #30 and documented as taken by C. D. Fredricks of New York.
Over the past 41+ years we have sold literally 100’s of CDV photographs of John Wilkes Booth (many more in the 1980’s and 1990’s than we have recently). However, this is the very first example of this portrait we have ever encountered. To be honest, we have handled a dozen or so examples of the CDV Photo that features an artist’s representation depicting Booth posed in this position being whispered to by the Devil. We always thought that the depiction of Booth with his back turned, was simply a drawing by the artist and not taken from any actual photographic portrait. When we acquired this CDV we were shocked to learn that there was an actual Photograph of Booth posed in this position from which the illustration was taken – who da thunk? - You learn something new every day (I actually learn a dozen or more new thing every day but that is a tale for another day – so to speak)!!!
Thisexceptionally rare and original, albumen, CDV Photo of John Wilkes Booth in very good condition. The Photograph itself exhibits sharp focus, strong contrast and rich, warm tonality with some lighting around the vignetted edges. The Image is generally clean and crisp and the card mount has some light soiling, a tiny chip at the upper right hand corner (not affecting the Image) and softness at the other corners.
An exceptionally rare and highly sought after, original CDV Photograph of the Assassin of President Abraham Lincoln posing with his back turned to the camera, and a fantastic addition to any collection!!
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