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IX "A WESTERN MAN" Lincoln's Appearance and Delivery Curiosity about Abraham Lincoln is insatiable. People have inquired about such personal details as his daily routine, hair, exact measurements, reading habits, purchases atthe local store, bank deposits, love affairs, marital life, churchgoing, mental health, and diseases. Friends, mere acquaintances, and even some casual observers have produced reminiscences, detailing memories, opinions, and hearsay.And what they could not remember they simplymade up, or they repeated what others had said. In addition, some of our best scholars and writers have interpreted and reinterpreted Lincoln and his times in monographs, biographies, and historical works. In spite of this outpouring of material, writers have given comparatively littleattention to Lincoln's platform delivery, a significant aspect of his immediate effectiveness. No doubt Lincoln established rapport with his listeners through his appearance, facial expression, voice, and the other nuances that hold peoples attention and fascinate authors. Much ofwhat weknowcomes from recollections made many years after his assassination. As a result, we have either a mythical Lincoln or what J. G. Randall once called a "second hand description."1 In the previous chapter discussing Abraham Lincoln's voice, I drew mainly upon the reports of earwitnesses. Similarly, in this discussion of his appearance and delivery, I shall confine my sources as much as possible to eyewitnesses and to those who knew him personally.2 What do the 120known photographs and the statues reveal about the speaking of Abraham Lincoln? What remain are posed figures, seated orstanding in fixed positions to accommodate the crude camera exposures. In some the head is probably held rigid by an "immobilizer ," a torturous metal bracket. The 31 photographers exercised little variation in positioningtheir subject. Often they presented either 1. James G. Randall, Lincoln, the President (4 vols.; New York, 1945-55), III, 394. 2. Paul M. Angle wrote, "Not many men knewLincoln well and of those who did only six— Herndon, Lamon, Whitney, Arnold, Nicolay and Hay—wrote extensively of his life" ("Introduction " to Henry Clay Whitney, Life on the Circuit with Lincoln [Caldwell, Idaho, 1940], 19). 104 "A WESTERN MAN" a full-figured Lincoln standing bolt upright with his hand resting on a table or a seated Lincoln in a formal chair with his hand in his lap or on a table. The Lincoln photographs show the same stiffness of pose as do those of other public figures of the time. All the photographs but three show Lincoln with his hair nicely combed, parted, and often slicked down. But people in Illinoiswere not accustomed to seeing the well-coiffed figure in the photographs. More likely they saw"his thick, coarse and defiant" hair standing "out in everydirection." Ward Lamon called it "stiff and unkempt." When he made Lincoln's life mask, Leonard W Volk recalled that "his long dark hair [stood]out at everyimaginableangle, apparently uncombed for a week."3 Although they give some notion of Lincoln's general appearance and clothing, there isanother reason the picturesmust be discounted. Lincoln usually dressed up for the sittings, and the photographers often straightened his clothing to get what they considered the best visual effect. One eager photographer who pulled Lincoln off the street lent him a coat, and Mathew Brady adjusted Lincoln's collar to shorten his neck. About 80 of the 120 known pictures show Lincoln with a beard, wearing formal clothing. But not one gives us any hint about the Lincoln who traveled the circuit or faced rallies in rural Illinois.4 Because his first picture was made in 1847, when he was thirtyseven years old, we have little idea about the appearance of the younger Lincoln who lived in New Salem and served four terms in the Illinois legislature. The expressionsin the pictures taken before 1860 are impassive, somber, and sometimes almost lifeless. In the photographs taken after 1860 the strain of being president is reflected in tiredness, sadness, and even remorsefulness. His eyes seem curiously indifferent or reveal a faraway stare. Among the likenesses, only one shows the slightest hint of a smile. Walt Whitman concluded: "None of the artists or pictures has caught the deep, though subtle and indirect expression of this man'sface. There is something else there."5 3. Lew Wallace, An Autobiography (2 vols.; New York, 1876), I, 222;Ward Lamon, Life of Abraham Lincoln (Boston, 1872), 469; Leonard W Volk, "The Lincoln Life-Mask and How It Was Made," Century Magazine, XXIII (December, 1881), 225. Lincoln approved a photograph with mussed hair (Alexander Hesler...

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