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Image information:

Chair occupied by Lincoln
Ford's Theater, Washington D.C. April 1865

The chair referred to today’s as “Lincoln’s Chair” was originally the private property of Harry Ford who owned the Theatre. When it was announced that Lincoln would be attending, he had the chair moved to the box the president would be occupying. As Lincoln, as well as other dignitaries had attended Ford’s Theatre in the past it is not known if, or how often the chair had been used for such purposes.

Following the assassination the War department seized the theatre and declared it a crime scene. The week after Lincoln died Assistant Secretary of War, Charles Dana, ordered the chair removed, it had been reported that the chair was "much clipped and mutilated by persons desirous of carrying away pieces of it as relics." A few weeks later the chair was admitted as evidence in connection with the trial of the conspirators. The War Department held on to the chair until 1867 when it was transferred to the State Department. The chair along with other artifacts was put on display in the Patent Office until 1869 when custody was again transferred, this time to the Smithsonian.

The chair was not seen in public again for more than 20 years when it was sent to be included in a museum setup across the street from Ford’s Theatre in the house that Lincoln died. Returned again to the Smithsonian in 1902 where once again it was taken off display and remained in storage till 1928. Blanche Ford, the widow of the original owner, Harry Ford asked why the chair was not on exhibit and asked for its return if the Smithsonian did not have an interest in the chair.

Smithsonian curator Theodore Belote stated that the museum's policy not to show objects "directly connected with such a horrible and deplorable event." He then arranged for the return of the chair to the Ford family. Recent evidence indicates that Belote may have been sympathetic to the South and Anti-Lincoln and found this a convenient excuse to dispose of the chair. Before the end of the year the chair was up for auction eventually bringing $2,400 being purchased by another Ford. The “Henry Ford Museum” was opening in Detroit and this became a prize exhibit. The chair continues to remain on display in Detroit. A copy of the chair is now on exhibit at the Ford’s Theatre.

What others are saying:

Bob Zeller: (Author of Lincoln in 3D, Blue & Gray and Black and White, Civil War In Depth I & II) From the dawn of the photograph until the advent of practical color photography, images were hand-painted to add the color that was missing in the early photographic processes. This lost art has been admirably revived by Civil War In 3d in their meticulous tinting of stereo views of the Civil War. Following in the time-honored tradition of the anonymous artists who added color to Gardner's legendary wartime photographs and the Anthony War for the Union stereo series, Civil War In 3D reminds us with their work that the Civil War was not fought in a black-and-white world.

Stephen M. Cobaugh: "I just received my order of stereoviews in the mail. All I can say is WOW! As you know, I'm a Civil War reenactor, but also a professional photographer and graphic designer. The quality of your products is extraordinary and is superior to anything I've seen, especially the color enhancements. It's a interesting reminder of the fact that the war was in color for those who experienced it. It's only modern people who picture it in the sense of black and white or sepia tone."

Stephen M. Cobaugh is a writer, director and documentary film producer. Currently he is working on the story of the Ninety Third Pennsylvania Regiment with his film: “Brothers Ever Shall We Be”

Awards: Civilwarin3d.com was awarded September 2010 "Must See 3D" by 3-D Review Online Magazine "for their outstanding restoration work in bringing these cards to the collecting world.” “CivilWarIn3D.com provided 3-D Review with several sample cards. We were amazed at the quality. Using magnifying glasses, we expected to find halftone dots when we inspected the details of the stereoviews. The cards are truly photographic in quality and extremely sharp in detail.” We are sure that you will be equally impressed!

Shipping:

First cards ships for $5.95. Order additional cards and shipping is only $1 per card!

Background of the collection:

Civil War In 3D images' were obtained from the Library of Congress, National Archives and other quality sources. Each image has been carefully restored to remove 150 years of wear, scratches, cracks and imperfections. Then each image has spent numerous hours being hand colored to recreate, as close as possible, the original scene as it may have appeared on the day it was taken. Due to the quality of work and loving restoration that has been done, Civil War In 3D images have been accepted into the collections of photography and historical museums.

Hand coloring of images is a technique that dates to the very beginning of photography. There are many examples of period stereo view cards that were colored. With modern digital technology, the ability to color a photograph allows the image to move from a black and white photo with splashes of color, to photographs that duplicate as near as possible, life-like full color images.

Each image was created from a scan of the original negative producing a brilliant digital image up to 100Mb in size for each half (total of up to 200 Mb for both images) of the image. After restoration and coloring, the size of the combined images grew to a staggering 1Gb in size before being commercially printed. By using commercial printing and mounting, we have produced a quality image that will last and become a valued part of your collection.

After printing, each image is professionally mounted onto standard 'Holmes' size stereo card measuring 3 1/2" x 7". Each card uses a matte board to produce a durable card nearly identical to the original cards. Other reproduction cards are printed on a slightly heavy paper on a home printer and do not have the image quality of professional photo paper, or the "feel" of a commercially mounted card. A one inch stack of these other cards would hold 97 images, while ours, with our superior mount, would only hold 16! We pride ourselves in trying to recreate the original card with the best modern technology.

Restoration and coloring copyright 2009-2013 by Civil War In 3D. Printed card does not contain watermark (text on image). Please indicate your preference of Color, Sepia or Black and White when ordering. Unless a preference is given, the color image with a Matte Finish will be shipped.