an albumen photograph on cream-colored mount, from the glass negative by Alexander Gardner, as operator for Mathew Brady, with Gardner and Brady's imprint below image as well as the printed title The President, Maj. Gen. McClernand, and E.J. Allen, Chief of S.S.U.S. / At Secret Service Department, Headquarters Army of the Potomac, near Antietam. / October 4, 1862., [Ostendorf, O-64]; 7" x 9", matted and framed, 21.5" x 25.5".
One of two known images of Lincoln posing with McClernand and E.J. Allen taken during the President's visit with General McClellan and staff shortly after the bloody battle at Antietam. This photo, like others from the Antietam series, was taken on October 3, but the enlargement published by Brady bears the printed date, October 4, 1862. In the photograph, Lincoln moves his head during the pose, and the detective, E.J. Allen, alias for Allan Pinkerton, exhibits a Napoleonic stance with his right hand thrust in his coat. Pinkerton (1819-1884) was head of the Union Intelligence Service between 1861 and 1862 and foiled an alleged assassination plot against Lincoln while guarding him on his way to his inauguration in Baltimore, MD. A photographic assistant holds a newspaper in the background.
Condition: Even toning to image; scattered soiling to image and mount; some folds and tear in mount; upper left corner of frame chipped.