![PIERCE, Franklin (1804-1869), President. Oval photograph signed ("Franklin Pierce"), after a daguerreotype, n.d. [1851-52?].](https://www.christies.com/img/LotImages/2007/NYR/2007_NYR_01938_1098_000(021400).jpg?w=1)
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PIERCE, Franklin (1804-1869), President. Oval photograph signed ("Franklin Pierce"), after a daguerreotype, n.d. [1851-52?].
Image: 7 x 5 in., the oval mount with gilt edges and surround: Mount: 9¾ x 7¾ in., the sepia-toned image with slight discoloration, some gilt smudges on mount, the letter "Fr" in signature running slightly off the edges of the mount. Boldly inscribed in ink at bottom of oval: "Franklin Pierce."
BRIGADIER GENERAL FRANKLIN PIERCE, IN HIS MEXICAN WAR UNIFORM: THE ONLY RECORDED SIGNED COPY OF THIS EXCEEDINGLY RARE PHOTOGRAPH
Pierce, a Democrat, served in the New Hampshire legislature from 1829 and as Senator 1837-1842. In 1844 he managed the political campaign of Democrat James K. Polk. "Military life had always intrigued Pierce, and the war with Mexico offered an exciting opportunity to experience it. Commissioned in February 1847, he was almost immediately named a brigadier general....Pride in his uniformed appearance must have been Pierce's motivation in posing for the...daguerreotype...some time after the war..." (Pfister, Facing the Light, p.85). Pierce's role in the war, alas, was hardly glorious. On one occasion he was injured by an uncontrollable horse and fainted; not long afterwards, at Churubusco, he suffered a twisted ankle and fainted. Then, during the climatic battle at Chapultepec, Pierce was hors-de-combat with dysentery. These mishaps were later exploited by his political opponents. In 1852, perhaps in an attempt to counter these whispered aspersions, Pierce posed for a striking portrait, donning his brigadier's uniform for the occasion (see Pfister, plate 24). The present salt print is derived from the daguerreotype. It shows the tousle-headed future president in high-collared uniform, one hand within his tunic in the obligatory Napoleonic pose. When the Democratic presidential convention was hopelessly deadlocked, Franklin was brought forward as a compromise candidate. In the November election, he was swept into office, defeating his former commanding general, Winfield Scott, the Whig nominee.
Provenance: Krainik Gallery
Image: 7 x 5 in., the oval mount with gilt edges and surround: Mount: 9¾ x 7¾ in., the sepia-toned image with slight discoloration, some gilt smudges on mount, the letter "Fr" in signature running slightly off the edges of the mount. Boldly inscribed in ink at bottom of oval: "Franklin Pierce."
BRIGADIER GENERAL FRANKLIN PIERCE, IN HIS MEXICAN WAR UNIFORM: THE ONLY RECORDED SIGNED COPY OF THIS EXCEEDINGLY RARE PHOTOGRAPH
Pierce, a Democrat, served in the New Hampshire legislature from 1829 and as Senator 1837-1842. In 1844 he managed the political campaign of Democrat James K. Polk. "Military life had always intrigued Pierce, and the war with Mexico offered an exciting opportunity to experience it. Commissioned in February 1847, he was almost immediately named a brigadier general....Pride in his uniformed appearance must have been Pierce's motivation in posing for the...daguerreotype...some time after the war..." (Pfister, Facing the Light, p.85). Pierce's role in the war, alas, was hardly glorious. On one occasion he was injured by an uncontrollable horse and fainted; not long afterwards, at Churubusco, he suffered a twisted ankle and fainted. Then, during the climatic battle at Chapultepec, Pierce was hors-de-combat with dysentery. These mishaps were later exploited by his political opponents. In 1852, perhaps in an attempt to counter these whispered aspersions, Pierce posed for a striking portrait, donning his brigadier's uniform for the occasion (see Pfister, plate 24). The present salt print is derived from the daguerreotype. It shows the tousle-headed future president in high-collared uniform, one hand within his tunic in the obligatory Napoleonic pose. When the Democratic presidential convention was hopelessly deadlocked, Franklin was brought forward as a compromise candidate. In the November election, he was swept into office, defeating his former commanding general, Winfield Scott, the Whig nominee.
Provenance: Krainik Gallery