John Wilkes Booth? Probably not.

 

 
It seems that any photo of a guy with a mustache is identified as John Wilkes Booth. An eBay seller offered one recently with a Buy-It-Now price of $199.95. No one was foolish enough to take the bait and the listing expired without a sale. We don’t believe the photographer’s gallery even existed in 1865. In addition, the style of the carte indicates a date no earlier than the early 1870s and most likely much later. Here, for whatever it’s worth, is his spiel:

AUTHENTIC JOHN WILKES BOOTH CDV PHOTO CIRCA 1856 WHEN BOOTH WAS APPOX. 18 YEARS OLD. BOOTH WAS AN ACTOR IN THE NEW YORK AREA AT THIS TIME AND WAS PHOTOGRAPHED REGULARLY. THIS PHOTO WAS BOUGHT IN 1996 AT AN ESTATE SALE OF A VERY PROMINENT NY DOCTOR THAT WAS A HUGE CIVIL WAR COLLECTOR. THIS HAS BEEN THE PRIZE PIECE IN MY COLLECTION AND I AM ONLY SELLING TO COLLECT OTHER CIVIL WAR MEMORABILIA THAT I HAVE FOUND. THIS PICTURE ORIGINALLY CAME WITH DOCUMENTATION OF AUTHENTICITY AND PAPERWORK FROM THE AUCTION BUT … I HAVE MANAGED TO MISS PLACE THIS PAPERWORK. I DID NOT WANT TO PAY TO HAVE IT RECERTIFIED THUS I AM STARTING THIS AUCTION FOR MUCH LESS THAN I PAID FOR THE PHOTO. I DO HOWEVER 100 % GUARANTEE IT’S AUTHENTICITY. IF YOU PURCHASE THIS PHOTO AND YOU ARE NOT COMPLETELY SATISFIED WITH IT I WILL REFUND 100% OF YOUR MONEY AND ALSO PAY FOR THE SHIPPING BACK TO ME. BOOTH HAS VERY DISTINCT FEATURES AND KEPT THE SAME HAIR STYLE AND MUSTACHE FOR MANY YEARS. HE EVEN POSED FOR MANY OF HIS PHOTOS IN THE SAME MANNER. IF YOU GO TO THE WEBSITE http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/lincolnconspiracy/bo* YOU CAN SEE SEVERAL EXAMPLES OF PHOTOS OF HIM A LITTLE OLDER WHERE HE IS POSED VERY SIMILARLY TO THIS PHOTO… THE BACK READS ” A.B.E. REMILLARD, PHOTOGRAPHER,” 82 WATER ST., NEWBURGH, N.Y.”

[*Editor's note: the above link opens to an error page.]