Latest Portrait of Mr. Lincoln

The day before his fifty-second birthday, Lincoln and his family left Springfield on a twelve-day trip to Washington. The train made numerous stops where Lincoln gave short non-controversial speeches, attended lunches or dinners, and sometimes spent the night in a hotel.

Between Cleveland and Buffalo, the train made a short stop in Westfield, NY, where Lincoln greeted and kissed Grace Bedell, who had written him a letter suggesting that he would look better with whiskers.

Thomas Nast was on the train from New York to Philadelphia, covering the President-elect for the New York Illustrated News. His first depiction of Lincoln referred to “his new facial appointments.”