American Historical Ephemera & Photography

2 3/8 x 3 5/8 in. albumen photograph on cardstock mount (wear and some discoloration to mount edges and corners). Verso with Lawrence & Houseworth's imprint, 2-cent revenue stamp, and affixed paper label reading, "459. Starr King's Tomb. March 4th, 1865." Image features a casket with engraved symbols and name "Thomas Starr King." Wreaths and flowers adorn the top and sides of the casket. 

Taking the pulpit at the First Unitarian Church of Charleston, Massachusetts at the age of 20, and pastoring the Hollis Street Unitarian Church in Boston shortly thereafter, Thomas Starr King (1824-1864) quickly became one of New England's most famous preachers.

In 1860, King accepted a call from the First Unitarian Church of San Francisco, and while in California during the Civil War, he spoke passionately in favor of the Union. Lincoln would even credit King with ensuring that California became part of the Union and not a separate republic. He also organized the Pacific Branch of the Sanitary Commission, raising over 1.5 million dollars for the organization's headquarters in New York. As a result of his demanding lecture circuit, King died in San Francisco in March 1864, of diphtheria. He was honored with a statue in the US Capitol rotunda in 1913.