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The Origin of the Kaplan Daguerreotype

by Albert Kaplan

Not long after I purchased the daguerreotype from a New York art gallery the owner of the gallery died, and apparently the gallery's records, which would have indicated from whom the gallery acquired the daguerreotype, were lost. While it is unlikely that the origin of the daguerreotype - where, when, and the circumstances surrounding the sitting - will ever be certainly known, my research has come up with a reasonable possibility.

Grant Romer of the George Eastman House believes that it was studio made in the early 1840's, in an urban setting, by a first-rate professional daguerreotypist.

According to plastic and reconstructive surgeons, other physicians, and forensic specialists, Lincoln appears to be 31-32 years of age. If they are correct, Lincoln, born on February 12, 1809, would have sat for the daguerreotype in 1840 or 1841.

At a 1994 press conference in Springfield, Illinois, Dr. Claude Frechette stated that Lincoln's weight at the time of the sitting suggested that the daguerreotype might have been made in 1840. He elaborated by recounting the historical evidence of Lincoln's severe weight loss beginning on or very close to January 1, 1841. In early 1841, James C. Conkling wrote to his fiancee, Mercy Levering, a friend of Mary Todd: "Poor Lincoln! How are the mighty fallen! He was confined about a week but though he now appears again he is reduced and emaciated in appearance." After reading aloud Mr. Conkling's description, Dr. Frechette said, "Clearly, at the time of the sitting, Lincoln was not "emaciated in appearance".

I took this up with Mr. Romer, and asked him if it was possible that the daguerreotype was made as early as  1840 or 1841. He replied that it was possible, but unlikely. He especially discounted 1840.

Whenever, wherever, and by whom it was made, we know that two elements were essential: Lincoln and a daguerreotypist needed to be in the same place at the same time. "Lincoln Day-by-Day" gives us Lincoln's whereabouts. In 1840 he remained in Illinois. I asked photographic historian, John S. Craig of Torrington, Connecticut, if he could place any daguerreotypists in Illinois in 1840. He replied that there is no record of any daguerreotypists in Illinois in 1840, and none in Springfield in 1841. He informed me, however, that in August 1841 Thomas R. Whitney "advertised himself in Galena, Illinois, as a daguerreian, remaining there approximately a month." However, according to "Lincoln Day-by-Day", Lincoln was not in Galena at that time.

Nor does it seem that Lincoln was in Galena in December 1841 at which time, according to Mr. Craig's remarkable records, "Richard Plumbe, brother of John Plumbe, Jr., noted daguerriean of Boston, exhibited daguerreotypes at a store in Galena. He probably also operated a temporary gallery there at that time."

In August 1841 Lincoln and his friend, Joshua Speed, traveled to the Speed plantation in Louisville, Kentucky. He and Speed departed Springfield for Louisville on August 12, 1841, arriving on approximately August 18th. They departed Louisville on September 7th, passing through St. Louis on their way back to Springfield.

A daguerreotype artist, Mr. T.B. Moore placed an advertisement in the "Louisville Daily Journal" on August 31^st, 1841 to the effect that he would remain a few days at the Ormsby House. Mr. Craig's records included the interesting information that Mr. Moore was a dentist as well as a daguerriean. When I learned this it seemed to me that Louisville and Mr. Moore fit well … because during his stay in Louisville, Lincoln went to a dentist and had a tooth pulled!

How to account for the daguerreotype's whereabouts between the date of its making and 1977? Where was it all those years? Surely the original owner knew the identity of the young man. And, that the daguerreotype was very carefully preserved, and the case often opened, is, according to Mr. Romer, self-evident.

Lincoln was a houseguest of the dearly beloved Speed family. I suggest that if the daguerreotype was made in Louisville, Lincoln gave it as a gift to his hostess, Mrs. Speed, Joshua's Mother, the very same lady he sent a signed photograph of himself when President. On the occasion of his visit to Louisville she gave Lincoln a gift, a Bible.

While this scenario is not certain, it is possible. The daguerreotype would have remained in the personal possession of Mrs. Speed until an unknown date and unknown circumstance. Somehow, someway, 136 years later, the daguerreotype found its way to the gallery on 57th Street in New York City where I purchased it.

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