Decades after Abraham Lincoln’s death, George B. Ayres created a photograph of the renowned president. Ayres produced the interpositive between 1895 and 1900 from an original negative of a portrait taken by Alexander Hesler in 1860 for Lincoln’s first presidential campaign. Now, this singular image of Lincoln is finally up for sale, and is expected to fetch anywhere from $800,000 to $1 million at auction.
Presented by University Archives, an auction house based in Wilton, Conn., Ayres’ photograph is headlining a collection of more than 60 lots, all of which feature items related to Lincoln such as a signed check, an inaugural ball invitation, and even a blood-stained towel from his death chamber. This particular photograph, however, is by far the most rare, not only because interpositives by Ayres hardly come to market, but also in large part due to its magnificent level of detail.
“[It’s] the closest you will ever get to seeing Lincoln, short of putting your eyeballs on the man himself,” said Grant Romer, who restored the image as the director of photograph conservation for the George Eastman House.
John Reznikoff, the president and owner of University Archives, echoed Romer’s sentiment: “[This is] perhaps the most vivid and lifelike photographic likeness of Lincoln ever produced.”
The photograph is indeed exceptional, capturing individual strands of Lincoln’s dark hair, his scruffy eyebrows, and the lines etched into his pensive face. Ayres achieved such specificity by creating the interpositive in a gelatin silver print on a glass plate, a technique that often resulted in a sharper image. To enhance its presentation, the plate is also housed in a custom-built case with doors which, when open, dramatically illuminate the image with a backlight. Also included are an envelope signed by Ayres, a booklet from the Smithsonian Institution, four exhibition boards and other visuals from a 2009 Lincoln celebration at the George Eastman House, and extensive paperwork.
“That looks better and expresses me better than any I have ever seen,” Lincoln is reputed to have said of the photograph. “If it pleases the people, I am satisfied.”
Lincoln’s law partner W.H. Herndon was reported to be equally enthusiastic, claiming that “no other artist has ever caught” the president’s essence with such accuracy.
The photograph has a starting bid of $250,000, and will be offered at the “Abraham Lincoln Collection” auction on April 23, 2025, at 10 a.m. ET. To learn more, visit the University Archives website.
The “most lifelike” photograph of Abraham Lincoln may fetch up to $1 million at an upcoming auction hosted by University Archives.
The image, which was produced by George B. Ayres decades after Lincoln’s death, captures the president with unprecedented detail.
University Archives: Website | Instagram
All images via University Archives.
Sources: Lincoln in Focus: Rare Restored Glass Plate Image of Abraham Lincoln Up for Auction; Best Image of Abraham Lincoln: “Closest… to ‘seeing’ Lincoln… A National Treasure” Original Hesler/Ayres Interpositive
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