Seth Kaller, Inc.

This color lithograph print illustrates the view of Washington, D.C. from the Military Asylum, north of the city. President Abraham Lincoln spent three summers there with his family during his Presidency, holding important meetings with advisors and opponents, and completed the final draft of the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, issued on September 22, 1862. He later orchestrated the critical re-election campaign of 1864 from this summer retreat, and Lincoln’s residence there made it a target of Jubal Early’s raid on Washington in July 1864.

The view looks south, with Quarters One, built in 1852, in the right foreground and the Potomac River flowing near the horizon in the distance. At far left is the U.S. Capitol, and the original building of the Smithsonian Institution, completed in 1855, appears along the Potomac in the center distance. The Washington Monument, to the right of center, is presented as complete rather than as it appeared between 1854, when construction was suspended, and 1879, when it resumed. It also seems to include the columned temple at the base that architect Robert Mills proposed in his winning design but was never built.

[ABRAHAM LINCOLN]. Charles Magnus, “District of Columbia / View from the Military Asylum, Washington,” Color Lithograph, ca. 1858-1860. 7? x 4½ in.

Inventory #26758       Price: $1,250

Historical Background
An act for the creation of the United States Military Asylum passed Congress in 1851, and commissioners selected sites for four branches in 1851 and 1852, including one in the District of Columbia, four miles north of the Capitol. They ultimately selected a farm purchased from banker George W. Riggs and an adjacent parcel to form a 225-acre site for the establishment of a military asylum for disabled soldiers who had served in the army.

In 1857, President James Buchanan and his official family, including Secretary of War John B. Floyd spent the summer at the Military Asylum. Buchanan was the first of four presidents who spent the summer at the Military Asylum, renamed the Soldiers’ Home in 1859, to escape the city’s summer heat and illnesses, especially malaria.

President Abraham Lincoln and his family spent the summers of 1862, 1863, and 1864 at the Soldiers’ Home. While resident there from mid-June until early November 1862, Lincoln worked on the final draft of his Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.

In 1863, Charles Magnus published a different color lithograph of the “Soldiers’ Home,” which identified Quarters One as the “President’s Villa.” Buchanan occupied Quarters One during his stays in 1857 and 1859, and the Lincoln family occupied the Riggs Cottage in 1864, but where the Lincoln family lived in 1862 and 1863 remains open to interpretation and additional research.

Charles Magnus (1826-1900) was born Julian Carl Magnus in Germany and emigrated with his family to New York City in 1848. He and his brother founded a German-language newspaper. After he sold the newspaper, he published maps. During the Civil War, he established a branch office in Washington, D.C., and specialized in publishing battlefield maps with pictures from the battlefield on the margins. He also published bird’s-eye views of American and Canadian cities, more than 300 illustrated song sheets, and approximately 700 patriotic envelopes. After the war, Magnus expanded his work to include prints, games, reward of merit cards, and advertising and custom printing. He continued to use the lithographic process and hand coloring after most printers had turned to photomechanical processes.

Provenance: From the Barry & Louise Taper Collection; purchased from Ralph Newman.

Condition: Minor edge chipping; very good.