Historic Photographs and Two Peas in a Pod
Mathew Brady was born in the Adirondack Mountains of New York in the early 1820s. His parents were Irish immigrants, and yes, his name is spelled with one t. When Brady was 16 years old, he moved to New York City. He soon met Samuel F. B. Morse, the perfecter of the telegraph. Morse’s first aspiration had been to be an artist, but after meeting Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre (the inventor of photography) in Paris in 1838, Morse opened a photography studio in New York City. He also taught students how to take photos. Mathew Brady became one of Morse’s students.
Brady Photo of Samuel F. B. Morse,
Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Five years later, Brady opened a studio of his own and became a famous photographer. He photographed many famous Americans and set up exhibitions of his photographs.
Mathew Brady’s New Photographic Gallery by Albert Berghaus,
published in Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, 1861,
Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Brady photo of President James K. Polk, 1849,
Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Brady photo of George Washington Parke Custis,
Grandson of George and Martha Washington,
Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Brady later opened an additional studio in Washington, D.C. Brady was one of the first photographers to use photography to record American history. He said, “From the first, I regarded myself as under obligation to my country to preserve the faces of its historic men and mothers.”
When the Civil War began, Brady asked President Lincoln for permission to take photographs of the war. Brady hired over 20 photographers to complete this task. Brady sometimes visited battlefields himself, but also spent time working in Washington as the administrator of the project. He and his photographers took more than 10,000 images.
Photo labeled “Brady’s photo outfit in front of Petersburg, Virginia,”
Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Portrait of Mathew Brady after the Battle of Bull Run, 1861,
Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Brady photo of the fortifications at Manassas,
Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Brady photo of First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, 1861,
Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery,
Smithsonian Institution,
Frederick Hill Meserve Collection.
Brady photo of President Abraham Lincoln,
Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Brady photo of Major General George A. Custer,
Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Brady photo of Julia Dent Grant,
wife of General Ulysses S. Grant, 1864,
Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery,
Smithsonian Institution,
Frederick Hill Meserve Collection.
Brady photographer Anthony Berger took the following photo of Abraham Lincoln and his son Tad at the Washington, D. C., studio on Tuesday, February 9, 1864. Lincoln and his son are looking at a Brady photo album. However, the photo was later published with the caption, “President A. Lincoln reading the Bible to his son.”
Brady studio photo of President Lincoln and his son Tad
by Anthony Berger,
Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
In April 1865, Mathew Brady went to Richmond to take a photograph of Robert E. Lee. In the photo, Lee sits between his son, George Washington Custis Lee, to his left and his military aide, Walter Herron Taylor. They are on the porch of the Lees’ rented home.
Brady photo of Lee and his staff,
Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery,
Smithsonian Institution,
Frederick Hill Meserve Collection.
It is not possible to identify which photographer actually took many of the photos labeled Brady because a Brady label may mean either Brady studio or Mathew Brady. Thousands of Brady originals, copies, and negatives still exist in the collections of the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution.
In 1981 the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution acquired more than 5,000 Brady portrait negatives from those in the collection of businessman Frederick Meserve. The collection includes portraits of generals, politicians, diplomats, painters, and performers. Meserve was born in 1865. His father was a veteran of the Civil War. Meserve became a businessman. He once purchased a packet tied up in string at an auction for only $1.10. Inside he found 100 or more photographs of the Civil War, including many Brady photos. Meserve continued collecting until, by the end of his life, his collection numbered about 200,000. I was fascinated to learn that Meserve’s daughter was Dorothy Kunhardt, the author and illustrator of the classic children’s book, Pat the Bunny, which our children loved so much when they were little.
The Library of Congress purchased many Brady photos from the daughters of Mathew Brady’s nephew, Levin Corbin Handy. Handy was apprenticed to his uncle when he was 12 years old and later began his own photography studios. The Library of Congress also has photos from the Meserve collection.
This photograph of two adorable little boys, entitled “Lucasie Children,” is from the Mathew Brady Studio.
Lucasie Children by Mathew Brady Studio,
Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery,
Smithsonian Institution,
Frederick Hill Meserve Collection.
I love this photo of two little boys in matching outfits, and what outfits they are: round buttons, lace edging, striped socks, high top shoes, knickers, and those adorable faces and haircuts, too. Except for height, they look like two peas in a pod, but, as mamas, we know that each was a unique creation of God. Each had his own special personality. Each had his own learning style.
Though they weren’t really two peas in a pod, they do have some very important things in common. Each was knit together in their mother’s womb. Each was created in the image of God. Jesus died to save the soul of each one of these precious children who were loved by God.
But we do see Him
who was made for a little while
lower than the angels, namely, Jesus,
because of His suffering death
crowned with glory and honor,
so that by the grace of God
He might taste death for everyone.
Hebrews 2:9