Abraham Lincoln - February 1860 - New York City

18. Taken by Mathew Brady in New York City on February 27, 1860. This was the first of many photographs of Lincoln taken by Brady (or by one of Brady's assistants). This is known as the "Cooper Union Photograph" as it was taken on the morning of the day Lincoln would deliver his famous address at New York City's Cooper Union. Lincoln asserted that the speech – and this portrait – propelled him into the national spotlight and paved the way for his nomination for president a few months later. (For more on the speech and this portrait, read Harold Holzer’s excellent book Lincoln at Cooper Union.)