American Historical Ephemera and Early Photography

Lieut. L.B. Baker and his Horse Buckskin, capturer of J. Wilkes Booth. Lansing, MI: Savigny & Christmas, ca 1891. Cabinet card, composite image featuring Lieutenant Luther B. Baker mounted on his horse, Buckskin, at center, with photographs of Abraham Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth inset at right, and Boston Corbett inset at left. Accompanied by a printed "autobiography" written from the perspective of Baker's horse, "Buckskin," copyrighted 1891 and signed by L.B. Baker, 6 3/8 x 4 1/8 in. Originally issued with the cabinet card, the printed document notes that the likenesses of Lincoln, Booth and Corbett were copies of photographs secured by Baker soon after Lincoln's assassination.

Luther Byron Baker (830-1896) was assigned by his brother, Lafayette C. Baker, Chief of the Detective Bureau in Washington, DC, to participate in the manhunt for the Lincoln conspirators. He led a detail of 26 men of the 16th New York Cavalry, including Boston Corbett, to pursue John Wilkes Booth into Virginia. The unit tracked Booth to the Garrett Farm near Port Royal, VA, where he was subsequently captured and shot by Boston Corbett.

After the war, Baker moved to Lansing, MI, bringing his horse Buckskin with him. Following Buckskin's death, Baker had the horse stuffed and would bring him out on wheels. At personal appearances, Baker reportedly sold cabinet cards with signed autobiographies like those offered here.

Information obtained from the online article, "A horse and his man: Historian explores Lansing’s connection to the capture of John Wilkes Booth," by Lawrence Cosentino, Lansing City Pulse website.