Mary Todd Lincoln
From the Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection, the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites, and the Allen County Public Library
In 1872, photographer William H. Mumler produced this surreal photograph of Mary Todd Lincoln in his Boston studio. Over the previous decade, Mumler had established himself as a well-known spirit photographer—someone whose camera could capture the “ghosts” of deceased loved ones in images he made of his customers. As his popularity grew during the Civil War, questions about his methods—and accusations of trickery—also grew. In 1869, he faced trial for fraud in proceedings that saw P.T. Barnum, the renowned showman and then Connecticut legislator, testify against him. Mumler was acquitted; prosecutors could not prove conclusively that he was doctoring his images. This photo of Mrs. Lincoln—which purports to have captured the specter of her dead husband standing behind her, the president’s hands resting on her shoulders—was Mumler’s most popular work. He died at 52 in 1884, taking to his grave the process behind his spirit images.
Related topics: Abraham Lincoln
