Description

This hand-colored lithograph is the artist's version of the visitors to President Lincoln's deathbed at the Petersen house early in the morning of April 15, 1865. Lincoln is shown in the bed with his right hand on top of the cover. The bed is angled toward the viewer's left. Mrs. Lincoln is shown seated to the right of the bed weeping into a handkerchief while Tad, Lincoln's youngest son is shown standing with his head resting on his right arm which is resting on his mother's knee. (It is documented that Tad was actually not allowed to see his father at all that night.) Robert Todd Lincoln, the oldest son, is shown standing at the foot of the bed weeping into a handerchief. Surgeon General Barnes is shown seated at the left side of the bed holding President Lincoln's hand. Eight other visitors are identified in the lower margin just below the image: Mr. Chase, C.J., Sec. McCulloch, Atty. General [Speed], Genl. Halleck, Chas. Sumner, Secy. Stanton, Secy. Well[e]s, and Miss Harris. The title is printed in the lower margin along with the publisher's information. Currier & Ives published a second version of this print in which the head of General Halleck was replaced with the head of Vice President Andrew Johnson. See numbers 71.2009.081.1812 and 71.2009.081.1813 for examples. For more information on other Lincoln deathbed prints with various numbers of visitors present, see Lincoln Lore, number 1517, July, 1964. Copy and paste the following URL into a browser to read the issue online: https://archive.org/details/assassix00linc Part of the Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection, courtesy of the Indiana State Museum