LETTERS IN REGARD TO THE FRONTISPIECE OF THE NOVEMBER McCLURE'S.
FROM THE HON. THOMAS M. COOLEY, for many years Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Michigan, and the first Chairman of the Inter-State Commerce Commission.
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, October 24, 1895.
MR. S.S. McCLURE, New York City.
Dear Sir: I have received the daguerreotype likeness you sent me on the 19th inst., and which you understand to be the first ever taken of Mr. Lincoln. I am delighted to have the opportunity to see and inspect it. I think it a charming likeness; more attractive than any other I have seen, principally perhaps because of the age at which it was taken. The same characteristics are seen in it which are found in all subsequent likenesses—the same pleasant and kindly eyes, through which you feel, as you look into them, that you are looking into a great heart. The same just purposes are also there; and, as I think, the same unflinching determination to pursue to final success the course once deliberately entered upon. And what particularly pleases me is that there is nothing about the picture to indicate the low vulgarity that some persons who knew Mr. Lincoln in his early career would have us believe belonged to him at that time. The face is very far from being a coarse or brutal or sensual face. It is as refined in appearance as it is kindly. It seems almost impossible to conceive of this as the face of a man to be at the head of affairs when one of the greatest wars known to history was in progress, and who could push unflinchingly the measures necessary to bring that war to a successful end. Had it been merely a war of conquest, I think we can see in this face qualities that would have been entirely inconsistent with such a course, and that would have rendered it to this man wholly impossible. It is not the face of a bloodthirsty man, or of a man ambitious to be successful as a mere ruler of men; but if a war should come involving issues of the very highest importance to our common humanity, and that appealed from the oppression and degradation of the human race to the higher instincts of our nature, we almost feel, as we look at this youthful picture of the great leader, that we can see in it as plainly as we saw in his administration of the government when it came to his hands that here was likely to be neither flinching nor shadow of turning until success should come.
Very respectfully yours,
THOMAS M. COOLEY.
FROM HERBERT B. ADAMS, Professor of History in Johns Hopkins University.
JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, October 24, 1895.
S.S. McCLURE, ESQ., 30 Lafayette Place, New York City.
My Dear Mr. McClure: I thank you for a copy of the new portrait of Abraham Lincoln, which I shall promptly have framed and exhibited to my historical students. Indeed, I called it to their attention this morning, and they are all greatly interested in this remarkable likeness of the Saviour of his Country. The portrait indicates the natural character, strength, insight, and humor of the man before the burdens of office and the sins of his people began to weigh upon him. The prospect of a new life of Lincoln, revealing the Man as well as the Statesman, is most pleasing. From the previous work of Miss Tarbell on Napoleon, and from her preliminary sketches of Lincoln's boyhood, I am confident that this new series which you have undertaken to publish will have unique interest for the American people, and prove an unqualified success. The illustrations of the first number are worthy of the subject-matter. You have secured a wonderful combination of literary skill and artistic excellence in the presentation of Lincoln's life.
Very sincerely yours,
H.B. ADAMS.
FROM HENRY C. WHITNEY, an associate of Lincoln's on the circuit in Illinois, whose unpublished notes have saved from oblivion the great "lost speech" made by Lincoln at Bloomington in 1856, at the first meeting for organizing the Republican party in Illinois. Mr. Whitney's account of this speech will appear later in this Magazine.
BEACHMONT, MASSACHUSETTS, October 24, 1895.
My Dear Sir: I am greatly obliged for your early picture of Abraham Lincoln, which I regard as an important contribution to history. It is without doubt authentic and accurate; and dispels the illusion so common (but never shared by me) that Mr. Lincoln was an ugly-looking man. In point of fact, Mr. Lincoln was always a noble-looking—always a highly intellectual looking man—not handsome, but no one of any force ever thought of that. All pictures, as well as the living man, show manliness in its highest tension—this as emphatically as the rest. This picture was a surprise and pleasure to me. I doubt not it is its first appearance. It will be hailed with pleasure by friends of Mr. Lincoln. You ought to put his latest picture (the one I told Miss Tarbell about) with it. This picture was probably taken between December, 1847, and March, 1849, while he was in Congress. I never saw him with his hair combed before.
Yours,
HENRY C. WHITNEY.
FROM THE HON. HENRY B. BROWN, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
WASHINGTON, October 23, 1895.
S.S. McCLURE, New York.
Dear Sir: Accept my thanks for the engraving of the earliest picture of Mr. Lincoln. I recognized it at once, though I never saw Mr. Lincoln, and know him only from photographs of him while he was President. I think you were fortunate in securing the daguerreotype from which this was engraved, and it will form a very interesting contribution to the literature connected with this remarkable man. From its resemblance to his later pictures I should judge the likeness must be an excellent one.
Very truly yours,
H.B. BROWN.
FROM MAJOR J.W. POWELL, of the United States Geological Survey.
WASHINGTON, October 24, 1895.
My Dear McCLURE: I am delighted with the proof of the portrait of Lincoln from a daguerreotype. His pictures have never quite pleased me, and I now know why. I remember Lincoln as I saw him when I was a boy; after he became a public man I saw him but few times. This portrait is Lincoln as I knew him best: his sad, dreamy eye, his pensive smile, his sad and delicate face, his pyramidal shoulders, are the characteristics which I best remember; and I can never think of him as wrinkled with care, so plainly shown in his later portraits. This is the Lincoln of Springfield, Decatur, Jacksonville, and Bloomington.
Yours cordially,
J.W. POWELL.
FROM MR. JOHN C. ROPES, author of "The First Napoleon" and "The Story of the Civil War."
99 MOUNT VERNON STREET, BOSTON, October 24, 1895.
S.S. McCLURE, ESQ.
My Dear Sir: I thank you for the engraving of the daguerreotype portrait of Mr. Lincoln. It is assuredly a most interesting portrait. The expression, though serious and earnest, is devoid of the sadness which characterizes the later likenesses. There is an appearance of strength and self-confidence in this face, and an evident sense of humor. This picture is a great addition to our portraits of Mr. Lincoln.
With renewed thanks, I am,
Very truly yours,
J.C. ROPES.
FROM WOODROW WILSON, Professor of Finance and Political Economy at Princeton.
PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY, October 23, 1895.
MR. S. S. McCLURE.
My Dear Mr. McCLURE: I thank you very much for the portrait of Lincoln you were kind enough to send me, reproduced from an early daguerreotype. It seems to me both striking and singular. The fine brows and forehead, and the pensive sweetness of the clear eyes, give to the noble face a peculiar charm. There is in the expression the dreaminess of the familiar face without its later sadness. I shall treasure it as a notable picture.
Very sincerely yours,
WOODROW WILSON.
FROM C. R. MILLER, editor of the New York "Times."
NEW YORK, October 24, 1895.
S. S. McCLURE, ESQ., City.
Dear Mr. McCLURE: I thank you for the privilege you have given me of looking over some of the text and illustrations of your new Life of Lincoln. The portraits are of extraordinary interest, especially the "earliest" portrait, which I have never seen before. It is surprising that a portrait of such personal and historic interest could so long remain unpublished.
Yours very truly,
C. R. MILLER.
FROM THE HON. DAVID J. BREWER, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
WASHINGTON, October 24, 1895.
S. S. McCLURE, ESQ., New York.
My Dear Sir: I have yours of 19th inst., accompanied by an engraving of an early picture of Abraham Lincoln. Please accept my thanks for your kindness. The picture, if a likeness, must have been taken many years before I saw him and he became the central figure in our country's life. Indeed, I find it difficult to see in that face the features with which we are all so familiar. It certainly is a valuable contribution to any biography of Mr. Lincoln, and I wish that in some way the date at which it was taken could be accurately determined.
Yours truly,
DAVID J. BREWER.
FROM MURAT HALSTEAD, for many years editor of the Cincinnati "Commercial Gazette," and now editor of the Brooklyn "Standard-Union."
BROOKLYN STANDARD-UNION, October 23, 1895.
S. S. McCLURE.
My Dear Sir: I am under obligations to you for the artist's proof of the engraving of Abraham Lincoln as a young man. It is a surprising good fortune that you have this most interesting and admirable portrait. It is the one thing needed to tell the world the truth about Lincoln. The old daguerreotype was, after all, the best likeness, in the right light, ever made. This is incredibly fine. It shows Lincoln to have been in his youth very handsome, and the stamp of a manhood of noble promise is in this. There is manifest, too, intellectuality. The head is grand, the mouth is tender, the expression composed and pathetic. One sees the possibility of poetry and romance in it. The dress is not careless, but neat and elegant. The elaborate tie of the cravat is most becoming. The chin is magnificent. The length of neck is shaded away by the collars and the voluminous necktie. This young man might do anything important. I cannot understand how this wonderful picture should have been private property so long. It is at once the first and last chapter of the life of Lincoln. The young face of Lincoln, thus far unknown to the world, will be the most famous of all his portraits. It will be multiplied by the million, and be found in every house inhabited by civilized men.
MURAT HALSTEAD.
FROM GENERAL FRANCIS A. WALKER, President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
BOSTON, October 24, 1895.
S. S. McCLURE, ESQ., 30 Lafayette Place, New York City.
Dear Mr. McCLURE: I am in receipt of your picture of Lincoln. Having seen Mr. Lincoln in the war time, I have not been so dependent upon photographs and engravings as have most of the men of my generation for an impression of Mr. Lincoln's personality. I can, however, say that the present picture has distinctly helped me to understand the relation between Mr. Lincoln's face and his mind and character, as shown in his life's work. It is, far away, the most interesting presentation of the man I have ever seen. To my eye it explains Mr. Lincoln far more than the most elaborate line-engraving which has been produced.
Very truly yours,
FRANCIS A. WALKER.
FROM CHARLES DUDLEY WARNER.
HARTFORD, October 24, 1895.
My Dear Mr. McCLURE: The engraving you sent me of an authentic picture of Abraham Lincoln is of very great interest and value. I wish the date could be ascertained. The change from the Lincoln of this portrait to the Lincoln of history is very marked, and shows a remarkable development of character and expression. It must be very early. The deep-set eyes and mouth belong to the historical Lincoln, and are recognizable as his features when we know that this is a portrait of him. But I confess that I should not have recognized the likeness. I was familiar with his face as long ago as 1857, '58, '59. I used often to see him in the United States Court room in Chicago, and hear him, sitting with other lawyers, talk and tell stories. He looked then essentially as he looked when I heard him open in Chicago the great debate with Douglas, and when he was nominated. But the change from the Lincoln of this picture to the Lincoln of national fame is almost radical in character, and decidedly radical in expression.
For the study of the man's development, I think this new old portrait has a peculiar value.
Yours sincerely,
CHAS. DUDLEY WARNER.