[Americana] [Brown, John] Portrait of John Brown

[Brown, John]
Portrait of John Brown
New York, ca. 1858-59. Oval salt print, mounted onto card; Martin M. Lawrence photography studio embossed stamp in bottom right corner ("Lawrence's Photographs 381 Broadway Cor. White St. New York."); 10 1/8 x 8 in. (257 x 203 mm). Light spotting in print; soiling to card.

An iconic photograph of abolitionist John Brown, the last image taken of him before his raid on Harpers Ferry and his subsequent execution. The most recognizable and popular image of Brown, it is the only known image of him with a beard, and is the basis for most reproductions of him after his death.

Martin M. Lawrence (1808-ca. 1859) was a New York City daguerreotypist, who operated in the city from the 1840s until his death, and is remembered for his mammoth-sized daguerreotypes measuring up to 18 x 22 in. In 1853 he opened his final studio at 381 Broadway, where this print was made.

While Lawrence was most likely the one to have photographed the bearded Brown for this portrait in his New York studio in May 1858, according to historian Jean Libby there have been two other claims suggesting otherwise—by John B. Heywood of Boston, and James Wallace Black, also of Boston. In 1886 Heywood recounted a 1859 visit by Brown to his 173 Washington Street studio, but it is possible that he mixed up his dates and it actually happened in 1858. Later in 1859 Black bought Heywood's studio, and he claimed that he copyrighted this portrait earlier in 1858 (that date appears on his studio prints), but Libby has determined this to be incorrect as no such copyright was found in the registry (see John Brown Photo Chronology: Catalog of the Exhibition at Harpers Ferry, 2009, p. 71).