This Photo Archive is presented as a public service by the Abraham Lincoln Art Gallery, and provides a free download  of thirty five of the most famous Abraham Lincoln Photographs from the Library of Congress of both the Lawyer and President.  With the exception of the two color photographs, numbers 10 and 12, there are no copyright restrictions and the photos may be downloaded and used for any purpose.  The JPEG format for each photo is presented with a pixel measurement of 576 by 720.  Using a print density of 72 dpi (dots per inch), the file size of 48 KB will yield an 8 by 10 inch photograph. Download time over a standard modem will be approximately 30 seconds. The photographs are grouped into six pages with six thumbnail photographs on each page. By simply clicking each thumbnail picture, the large 8x10 photograph can be displayed and saved or printed.

Many of the photographs involve full body portraits of Abraham Lincoln.  Close up cropped images of his face from these full portraits are also presented as separate photographs and were created by scanning the cropped portion separately to ensure higher detail.  The two colored photos were created for public use by artist James Nance. 

Numbering and catalog systems for Abraham Lincoln photographs

Beneath each photograph's thumbnail is listed the following information:  Name of photographer, Date and location taken, the Meserve and Ostendorf catalog number, and the Library of Congress catalog number.  The Meserve system was created  by Abraham Lincoln collector and scholar Fredrick Hill Meserve and is denoted by the letter M followed by the photograph's number.  Later, Abraham Lincoln Artist and collector Lloyd Ostendorf re-cataloged all known Abraham Lincoln photographs with an updated system which uses the Letter O followed by the photograph's number.  The Meserve and Ostendorf system use different catalog numbers.  The principal advantage of the Ostendorf system is that it is more recent and therefore is based on a more through body of known Abraham Lincoln photographs.  In addition the Ostendorf system can be easily used by acquiring a copy of his book "Lincoln in Photographs, an Album of Every Known Pose"  by Lloyd Ostendorf and Charles Hamilton ISBN 089029-0873. Publisher, Morningside House Inc. 1985, 260 Oak St. Dayton Ohio 937-461-6736. (www.morningsidehouse.com) The Library of Congress catalog number begins with the letters LC.

How to save or print the photographs

To save, click the photograph with the right mouse button to select it and open the on-screen action menu.  Make sure you do not click the picture with the left mouse button or you will return to the previous thumbnail page.  On that menu select "Save Picture As" and enter the name of your file to which you wish the photo to be saved in the JPEG format.  Most computers have a simple built in photo preview program which allows later viewing and printing of the photograph.  Best results, however, will be achieved by opening the photo file through a photo editing program such as Adobe Photo Editor. Printing should be done at the best (and slowest) print setting using a glossy 8x10 photo paper, and will yield a very nice looking 8x10 photograph.  Do not use the "print Target " command because this will simply print the entire web page containing the photo and the photo reproduction will be poor. 

How to obtain a quality photographic print of these Abraham Lincoln photographs

Quality photographs may be obtained from several sources most notably the Library of Congress.  Each 8x10 print costs approximately $18 and will require 8 weeks to receive.  For more information please see the  Links page in this web site for "Where to find Abraham Lincoln Photographs"