PEORIA, Ill. (25News Now) – A rare photograph of Abraham Lincoln, more than 160 years old, has returned to Peoria. The Peoria Riverfront Museum unveiled the image Tuesday as part of its 14th anniversary celebration.
The photograph dates to 1858, when Lincoln was in Peoria preparing to debate Stephen Douglas in the U.S. Senate race. A local photographer named Roderick Cole asked to take his picture, and after some hesitation, Lincoln agreed.
The museum unveiled the original ambrotype, an early form of photography using glass.
Chief Curator Bill Conger said the discovery is significant because it is the only known photo of Lincoln taken in Peoria, and it is the original plate, not a reprint.
“So we have not a copy of the first sitting. We have the original glass plate that was with Lincoln in the room at the corner of Main and Washington in 1858. It is the only image of Lincoln in Peoria, which is why it deserves and really needs to belong in our city,” said Conger.
Conger said the image was located in New York City and brought back to Peoria to help preserve Lincoln’s connection to the city.
The photo is on display at the Peoria Riverfront Museum through the end of the year. The museum says the original image will remain in Peoria permanently after the exhibit ends.
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