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Abraham Lincoln Assassination Washington, DC, ca. 1866 CDV of "Death-Bed of Lincoln" by John H. Littlefield CDV [LINCOLN ASSASSINATION]. John H. Littlefield, "Death-Bed of Lincoln," Carte-de-visité. Washington, DC: J. H. Littlefield, 1866. 1 p., 4" x 2.5". Edge roughness; scattered stains; small creases. This carte-de-visité of the "Death-Bed of Lincoln," copyrighted by J. H. Littlefield, features an image of the room where Lincoln died with 25 mourners. Littlefield obtained sittings from many of those who had been present, of whom he made portraits in oil. He then grouped these portraits and made a large painting of Lincoln's deathbed scene in India ink. John Goldin (1827-1892) photographed the final product, and Littlefield sold thousands of copies in partnership with Dorsey Clagett (1843-1899) from June 1866 to July 1867, when Clagett purchased the copyright and continued selling the image alone. Littlefield declared that he had received "the most gratifying approval of his Excellency, the President of the United States, and other distinguished gentlemen who were present on this lamented occasion." Advertisements declared that the painting "depicts with much power and pathos, a memorable scene in our history. In the group around the death-bed of our martyr President are the members of the cabinet, the speaker of the house, several distinguished Generals, Surgeons and others, making a group of twenty-four persons. The group of figures, whose faces are delineated have been taken from the living subjects, all of whom sat for Mr. Littlefield's sketches. It is the only accurate and truthful representation of that solemn scene, and is worthy of a wide circulation." This version includes Illinois Governor Richard J. Oglesby, standing third from left between Secretary of the Treasury Hugh McCulloch and Brigadier General John F. Farnsworth, but an (earlier?) version of the photograph omitted Oglesby. The Illinois governor met with President Lincoln during the late afternoon of April 14 before the Lincolns left for Ford's Theatre. He and General Isham Haynie visited the Petersen House during the night of April 14-15 and accompanied President Lincoln's body back to Springfield, Illinois. Historical Background After John Wilkes Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln in Ford's Theatre on the night of April 15, 1865, soldiers carried the wounded body of the President across Tenth Street to William Petersen's house and into a back bedroom. They laid the President's tall body diagonally across the bed in the small 9½-by-17-foot room. During the next nine hours, a large number of political and military leaders made appearances in the bedroom, as did First Lady Mary Lincoln and their oldest son, Robert Lincoln. Most of the members of Lincoln's cabinet, Vice President Andrew Johnson, and Senator Charles Sumner visited or spent much of the night in the Petersen house. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton directed the search for Lincoln's assassin from the front room of the house. Over the next several weeks and months, a variety of printmakers produced representations of the room where Lincoln died. Prints included a variety of individuals in the room, including Tad Lincoln, who never visited his father's deathbed. Prints typically included one to two dozen individuals in the scene, though no more than a half dozen could have occupied the room at any one time. An 1868 oil painting by Alonzo Chappel expanded the room even further and included 47 mourners, all of whom had visited sometime during the night. John H. Littlefield (1825-1902) was born in Illinois, and his family knew Abraham Lincoln there. He was a student in Lincoln's Springfield law office for two years. When Lincoln was elected president, Littlefield took a position in the Treasury Department in Washington, D.C. As a young man, he had displayed skill in painting and decorating carriages and sleighs, which his father manufactured. In 1865, he painted a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, based on an 1864 photograph by Anthony Berger. Henry Gugler engraved the image, which was used on the United States $5 bill from 1914 to 2000. Littlefield also painted portraits of two dozen people who had been present at Lincoln's deathbed. He founded the Lincoln Publishing Company to sell engravings of his portraits. He also engraved portraits of Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, and William Cullen Bryant. This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses. WE PROVIDE IN-HOUSE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE.