A picture of former President Abraham Lincoln taken in 1860 will be included in the traveling photography exhibition “One Life: The Mask of Lincoln.”
Photo courtesy of the Auglaize County Historical Society.
WAPAKONETA — The Auglaize County Historical Society will debut a free admission traveling photography exhibition “One Life: The Mask of Lincoln” on Sunday, Sept. 1, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Wapakoneta Museum, 206 W. Main St., Wapakoneta.
The exhibit will show 10 portraits of former President Abraham Lincoln throughout his presidency as he led the fight to preserve the union during the Civil War. One of the pictures included will be the “tousled hair” portrait taken in 1857 that was used in early campaign materials, and another was taken just before Lincoln’s groundbreaking 1860 speech at the Cooper Union. This image is known as the photograph that made Lincoln president, the historical society wrote in a news release.
The historical society wrote Lincoln was the first president to serve after photography became more widespread. He embraced the new technology to craft his image and keep himself in the eye of citizens.
“Historically, presidential campaigns have kicked off as of Labor Day. We thought that Sunday, Sept. 1, would be an ideal time to debut the exhibit here,” wrote Auglaize County Historical Society Director Rachel Barber.
The pictures will also be included in a presentation called “Photography during the Civil War” with Civil War Historian Mark Holbrook on Monday, Sept. 9, at 7 p.m. at St. Paul United Church of Christ, 101 Perry St., Wapakoneta.
The exhibition will be available to local schools, libraries and other public locations from September through mid-November.
