Visual Materials
Stereographs of 13th Amendment congressional signers
Image not available
- Description
- Two stereographs on card mounts that are composite photographs produced by George May Powell of Powell & Co. featuring politicians who secured the passage of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which permanently abolished slavery. The stereograph featuring 159 individuals is composed of portraits of Vice President Hannibal Hamlin at the top, Speaker of the House Schuyler Colfax at the center, President Abraham Lincoln at the bottom, 38 Senators on the outer edges, and 117 Congressmen in the inner area. The second stereograph features portraits of only the 38 Senators with Abraham Lincoln's portrait in the middle. To construct these composite photographs, George Powell probably borrowed from Mathew Brady's library of photographic portraits, and Lincoln's face is likely cropped from a picture taken by Brady's cameraman, Anthony Berger, on February 9, 1864. This photograph was produced by George May Powell in various sizes, on different mounts, and later under different imprints. A separate key that identified each person was also produced and sold separately.
- Production date
- approximately 1865.
