WORLD> America
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WORLD> America
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Collector: Lincoln's last photo uncovered in Grant album
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-03-11 08:54 At 6-foot-4, Lincoln was the tallest US president. Morgan, who has sold photographs of Lincoln and other historical figures to the Smithsonian Institution, the White House and others, said he purchased the image from Grant for $50,000 in February. It will be added to Morgan's $25 million collection of Lincoln artifacts and original images. Several historians say Morgan has a good case. Will Stapp, who was the founding curator of the National Portrait Gallery's photographs department and who now appraises fine art and photographs, said he's usually cynical about such claims. But he said he was "very satisfied that it's Lincoln" in the picture.
White House curator William Allman said the photo appears to include Lincoln. "I guess there's always an element of doubt," he said. "It feels pretty likely, though." Even if it's not Lincoln, it would be among the oldest photographs of the White House. Lincoln artifacts have recently been hot commodities leading up to the 200th anniversary of his birth, and President Barack Obama has evoked his memory several times for his work to unify the nation. The significance of the photo is difficult to judge, Stapp said. It does show the relative freedom Lincoln had compared with presidents today, and offers a unique view of the White House from the 1860s, he said. "We don't so much think of (Lincoln) as living at the White House," Stapp said. "In that respect, I think it's an important find." On Tuesday, Morgan's gallery Web site was overwhelmed with more than 1,000 inquires and telephone calls about the photograph after history buffs read of his purchase, he said. To him, the historical significance is simple. "These photos were the last sitting of Lincoln," Morgan said of Warren's photography. "It's the last glimpse of the greatest American that ever lived."
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