Press Release

Wilton, CT -- On Wednesday, April 23rd, auction house University Archives will present an extraordinary artifact: a photographic image of President Abraham Lincoln, created circa 1895-1900 by George B. Ayres (1829-1905) using Alexander Hesler’s (1823-1895) original 1860 collodion negative of Portrait Sitting No. 2. Objects of this profound historical consequence and rare visual immediacy rarely come to auction.

“The interpositive - a silver gelatin positive transparency on glass - represents perhaps the most vivid and lifelike photographic likeness of Lincoln ever produced,” said John Reznikoff, the president and owner of University Archives. “It is offered in time for the 160th anniversary of Lincoln’s assassination, in 1865, and will be the star lot in an auction featuring items signed by other U.S. presidents, in addition to many other luminaries throughout history.”

Here is a link to the interpositive on the University Archives website: https://www.universityarchives.com/auction-lot/best-image-of-abraham-lincoln-closest...-to-'seei_05a4e26847. It is the headliner lot in the online-only Rare Autographs, Books & Photos auction, beginning at 10am Eastern time. Internet bidding will be facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com, Auctionzip.com and UniversityArchives.com.

The interpositive was cleaned and restored by experts at the George Eastman House & International Museum of Photography & Film (Rochester, N.Y.) in 2007, following a two-year exploratory research phase. It measures 8.625 inches by 11 inches and is housed in an elegant custom-built cabinet presentation case designed by Arnold VanDenburgh of Rochester, N.Y.

The mahogany veneer case has a slanted top with two hinged doors. It’s illuminated by a hidden light source that dramatically backlights the image when the doors are opened and extinguishes it upon closure. The elegant mechanism offers an extraordinary viewing experience. The case measures 14.5 inches by 16 inches by 13.5 inches.

The Lincoln interpositive was prominently featured in George Eastman House events in January 2009, to celebrate the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth. The item’s provenance traces it to the family of Lincoln scholar King Hostick, by descent through a close friend. The lot will require third-party shipping. University Archives can recommend a fine art shipper.

Abraham Lincoln is reputed to have said of the photograph: “That looks better and expresses me better than any I have ever seen; if it pleases the people I am satisfied.” Lincoln’s law partner, W.H. Herndon, said of the portrait that “no other artist has ever caught it,” referring to Lincoln’s special essence.

Grant Romer, George Eastman House’s Director of Photograph Conservation for decades, described this interpositive as “the closest you will ever get to seeing Lincoln, short of putting your eyeballs on the man himself.”

Every detail of Lincoln’s visage is rendered with stunning precision: from the furrowed brow and coarse texture of his hair to the mole upon his right cheek and the singular curve of his lower lip. Glass plate photography like this provides an incredible degree of high-definition detail that is normally dulled by paper print photography.

Comparable objects of this caliber are virtually nonexistent in private hands. Ayres’s interpositives, as well as those of other photographers (particularly ones of this size, clarity, and historic resonance), probably have never been seen before on the market.

Here is a link to the April 23rd auction catalog on the University Archives website: https://www.universityarchives.com/auction-catalog/rare-autographs-books-photos-abraham-lincoln-coll_DU5FC9TF63?scrollPosition=05a4e26847&algoliaParam=upcoming_lots_lotNumber_asc_prod%255Bpage%255D%3D2

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