Currier Ives "Death of President Lincoln. At Washington, D.C. April 15th. 1865. The Nation's Martyr.”

Currier & Ives.  "Death of President Lincoln.  At Washington, D.C. April 15th. 1865.  The Nation's Martyr.” 

New York: Currier & Ives, 1865.  Small folio.  8 1/2 x 12 7/8.  Lithograph.  Uncolored.  Several tears into image and margins skillfully repaired.  Approx. 2 x 3 inch irregular hole in print left hand side filled and missing image in-painted by hand in facsimile as best as possible.  Else, fair condition.  Large margins.  C:1501.  

A moving lithograph by Currier & Ives showing Lincoln on his deathbed in the boarding house across the street from Ford's theater.  The room where Lincoln lay is tiny and likely not as many people shown in this image could have fit in.  More interestingly, a number of people are shown as present who never were, such as Salmon P. Chase and Tad Lincoln.  Mary Lincoln is shown sitting by Lincoln's head, but she was not present when he died and indeed was mostly kept away from Lincoln's side during the evening.  Details of the room include a print of Rosa Bonheur's "Horse Fair" which did hang in the room.  While not fully accurate, this is still a wonderful symbolic image representing the nation's mourning for the martyred President.                          

The print depicts Lincoln on his death bed with important family and associates around him.  Many of the people in the picture were not in the room at the time of his death, nor is the room depicted accurately, but the intention is not realism.  From left to right are: Mr. Chase, Attorney General, Secretary McCulloch, Vice President Johnson, Charles Sumner, Secretary Stanton, Secretary Wells, Robert Lincoln, Surgeon General, Mrs. Lincoln, Tad Lincoln and Miss Harris.