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 It is surprising that a portrait of such personal and historic interest could so long remain unpublished.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.