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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:

E-Surface Photo Paper is by far our most popular photographic paper. As a professional paper, it boasts rich, sharp color that won't fade or yellow, creating beautiful prints that will last for years to come.

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.

Major Henry Reed Rathbone

Guest of Lincoln's at Ford's Theatre

April 14, 1865

Major Rathbone was the last surviving witness, that was seated in the President’s Box at Ford’s Theatre, during the Lincoln Assassination. His story is also one of the most tragic. Early on, the outlook for his life seemed much brighter. His father was a businessman and later mayor of Albany, New York. When he died, he left Henry with an estate of $200,000. Rathbone worked in a law partnership before joining the NY 12th Infantry as a Captain at the start of the War. He served at Antietam and Fredericksburg. By the end of the War he was a Major and planning his return to law practice.

After his father's death, his mother remarried Ira Harris. Harris was the U.S. Senator that replaced William Seward when he became Secretary of State. His new step-father had a daughter, Clara, from a previous marriage. Soon Henry and Clara became inseparable. His step-father, Senator Harris, became good friends with Lincoln, as well as William Seward. After other invitees, including General Grant, declined the Lincolns' invitation to attend the theatre, Lincoln invited Senator Harris’s daughter and her fiancé to attend. By this quark of fate, both would witness the assassination.

When Booth fired the shot that killed Lincoln, Rathbone struggled with him. Booth brandished a large dagger and stabbed Rathbone before leaping to the stage. After recovering, Rathbone left the Army and returned to private practice. In 1867, he and Clara married and eventually had three children.

In 1882, Rathbone was appointed U.S. consul to Hanover, Germany. The entire family followed him to Europe. At this point, his mental state rapidly deteriorated. Some speculate that he was never able to fully accept that there was nothing he could have done to prevent Lincoln’s assassination. Two days before Christmas in 1883, he killed Clara and attempted suicide. All of the children managed to escape and survived unharmed. Rathbone was found by police bleeding and claiming that people were hiding in the walls behind the pictures.

Found guilty and insane, he lived the rest of his life in an asylum for the criminally insane. When he died at the age of 74 in 1911, he was buried next to Clara in a cemetery in Hanover. In 1952, the managers of the cemetery determined that there had been no activity or interest from the family and disposed of both bodies.