Ulysses S. Grant. Signed carte de visite with 55 x 92mm vintage albumen print mounted on 63 x 107mm stiff ivory card stock, bold signature "U. S. Grant" below his portrait effectively ties the print to the card, back with photographer's imprint "Henry Ulke, 278 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C. 1868", remarkable state of preservation with crisp corners

EXTREMELY FINE. A BEAUTIFUL CARTE DE VISITE OF ULYSSES S. GRANT WITH HIS BOLD AUTOGRAPH BELOW HIS PHOTOGRAPH IN CIVILIAN CLOTHING.

The year on the back of this carte de visite, 1868, is the year Grant was elected to the first of his two terms as President (elected Nov. 3, 1868, assumed office Mar. 4, 1869). The photographer, Henry Ulke, had a portrait studio in Washington, D.C. and painted portraits and took photographs of famous people of the day. He was a personal friend of Abraham Lincoln and photographed Mary Todd Lincoln in mourning after her son Willie's death. Ulke lived in the Petersen House, which is where Lincoln was taken the night he was shot and where he died the following day. Ulke's oil painting of President Grant, painted in 1875, hangs in the White House. One can imagine Grant sitting for a photograph with this famous artist of the day, either just before or after his election as President. A marvelous piece of history.

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