[Hesler portrait of Lincoln.]. American Civil War 1861-1865.

Meserve no. 26. A photograph by Hesler of Chicago, made in Springfield, Illinois on June 3, 1860. Mr. Truman H. Bartlett stated that this after Mr. Hesler's death in 1865 were bought by Mr. George B Ayres, who moved to Buffalo before fire destroyed the Hesler Gallery, and before the great Chicago Fire of 1871, and that Mr. Ayres touched up 8 x 10 negatives made from the originals, which were cabinet size. They had a very wide distribution. These 8 x 10 negatives were damaged in the mails and are now in the Smithsonian Institution. (From the Photographic Portraits of Abraham Lincoln; Abraham Lincoln; Lincoln Memorial University; the Meserve Collection, 1941.)