An interesting "early Lincoln" daguerreotype NOT

[William Whitaker]

Here is a good exercise for all you portrait painters.

While surfing the Internet, I came across a purported early Abraham Lincoln Daguerreotype. I went to the website http://www.lincolnportrait.com to check it out. It was a lovely image of a very nice looking young man, but it wasn

[Margaret Port]

Hi Bill,

Very interesting exercise, thanks for posting it.

I agree the surgeon can't see.

Both the young man's eyelids are drooped (sleepy) and he has a distinctly different nose with a bump on it. As well as your observations.

I'd go so far as to say that the one looks vaguely French (or Continental at least), while the other looks like he is of Irish origins.

If they had wanted to do an unbiased authentication, why did they identify the subject? Could it be worth more money if it is of Lincoln?

[Margaret Port]

I was intrigued tonight while watching TV to see that someone in Australia has invented a facial recognition scanner which maps 120 points on a face to match it to a passport photo or such for use in airport security. I wonder if they are using the same measurement principles as the expert referred to in this thread. Might be another area where they need the skills of a good portrait artist!!