This is an original period image from the Library of Congress, the National Archives and other quality sources restored and tinted by the internationally known color artist and author of "Restoring and Tinting Vintage Images", David Richardson. This is an exclusive listing of his work on ebay.
Each image is taken from a high resolution negative and then cleaned of blemishes, damage, scratches, and whatever the decades have caused. Then the image is carefully brought back to life by adding color to the black and white image. By using these techniques the hands of time are turned back and for the first time you can see the images in color as they might have been on the day they were taken.
You have your choice of size and finish for the photo. Note that the size you choose may require cropping and the finished image may appear slightly different than the one shown. If preferred a white border can be added above/below or left/right to allow all of the original image to print. Unless requested when placing your order, your image may be cropped. If you would like to see how a specific image will look for the size you have chosen, please contact us and indicate the size you are interested in.
Matte Finish:
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Glossy (Metallic) finish:
Our Metallic Photo Paper features a unique pearlescent surface. It offers highly saturated colors, ultra-bright backgrounds, and will last a lifetime with typical home storage.
Dr. Charles A. Leale
Attended Lincoln at death
April 14-15 1865
"Sometimes,
recognition and reason return just before departure. I held his hand firmly to
let him know, in his blindness, that he had a friend." Dr. Charles Leale
On April 14, 1865, 23-year-old Dr.
Charles Leale took care of the most famous patient in his career – the dying
Abraham Lincoln. Six weeks earlier,
Leale had graduated from medical college.
Joining the army as an Assistant Surgeon, he was assigned to care for
wounded officers at a hospital in Washington, which made him familiar with
gunshot wounds.
Three days earlier both Leale and John Wilkes Booth heard
Lincoln’s last public speech outside of the White House. The talk was in response to Gen. Robert E.
Lee’s surrender two days before. During
the speech, Lincoln referred to black suffrage.
Angry, Booth thought, “That is the last speech he will make.”
On the other hand, Leale was intrigued by Lincoln. Having heard the President was attending the
play, “My American Cousin”, Leale went to Ford’s theater to have an opportunity
to see Lincoln and “study the characteristics of the savior of his nation.”
Leale had “procured a seat in the dress circle about 40 feet
from the Presidents Box. The play was
then progressing and in a few minutes I saw the President, Mrs. Lincoln, Major
Rathbone and Miss Harris enter; while proceeding to the Box they were seen by
the audience who cheered which was reciprocated by the President and Mrs.
Lincoln by a smile and bow.”
After Lincoln was shot and chaos and
panic set in, Leale shoved his way through the crowd to the President’s
Box. As Rathbone had been stabbed, Leale
initially searched Lincoln’s shoulder for a similar wound before examining his
head. There he found “the perfectly
smooth opening made by the ball”. Using
his finger, he removed a blood clot, which relieved the pressure. Lincoln began breathing easier. Not wanting to give false hope, Leale
announced, “His wound is mortal. It is
impossible for him to recover.”
It was Leale that decided and supervised the moving of
Lincoln through the crowd to the nearest house.
Although Dr. Stone, Lincoln’s family doctor arrived and took charge of
Lincoln’s care, Leale holding Lincoln’s hand, stayed. During the night, Lincoln’s son Robert,
cabinet members, and friends came to see the dying President.
According to Leale, at 7:20 A.M. Lincoln breathed his last,
“the spirit fled to God who gave it.”
Dr. Leale wrote about this photograph:
“Among my relics I have a photograph
taken a few days later in full staff uniform as I appeared at the obsequies.
The crape has never been removed from my sword.
I have my cuffs stained with the martyr's blood, also my card of
invitation to the funeral services, held on Wednesday, April 19, which I
attended.”
Dr. Leale returned to his work as a surgeon, forgetting his
moment in history, until the 100th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth when he
finally wrote “Lincoln’s Last Hours” for a speech he gave to the Military Order
of the Loyal Legion of the United States in February 1909. Dr. Leale would live another 23 years until
his own death at the age of 90 in 1932.