[Buttre engraving of Lincoln based on Brady photograph.]

Mathew Brady (1823-1896) was one of the most prolific photographers of the nineteenth century, creating a visual documentation of the Civil War period (1860-1865). During the Civil War, Brady and his associates traveled throughout the eastern part of the country, capturing the effects of the War through photographs of people, towns, and battlefields. Additionally, Brady kept studios in Washington, DC and New York City, where many influential politicians and war heroes sat for portraits. The U.S. National Archives has digitized over 6,000 images from the series Mathew Brady Photographs of Civil War-Era Personalities and Scenes (National Archives's Local Identifier 111-B) and included them in our online catalog. The U.S. National Archives was established in 1934 by President Franklin Roosevelt, but its major holdings date back to 1775. The National Archives keeps only those Federal records that are judged to have continuing value -- about 2 to 5 percent of those generated in any given year. By now, they add up to a formidable number, diverse in form as well as in content. In addition to the photographs and graphic images described above, there are approximately 9 billion pages of textual records; 7.2 million maps, charts, and architectural drawings; billions of machine-readable data sets; and more than 365,000 reels of film and 110,000 videotapes. All of these materials are preserved because they are important to the workings of Government, have long-term research worth, or provide information of value to citizens.

Since his death in 1865, Abraham Lincoln has been an iconic American figure depicted in a wide range of media forms including printed materials, sculpture, alternative timelines, animation, documentaries, small cameos, and many fictionalized interpretations. Lincoln's unique physical appearance, including his tall and lanky stature and his distinctive beard, made him a popular subject for portrait artists. Over time, the abundance of portraits of Lincoln has contributed to his iconic status and has helped to ensure that his memory and legacy are preserved. This Abraham Lincoln portraits dataset was generated using media from the world's largest public domain source Picryl.com.