Booth and his Associates 1865

This carte-de-visite, "Booth and his Associates," was created in 1865. The work by Joseph Ward, a British artist born in 1737 and who died in 1760, presents portraits of John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln, and his fellow conspirators. The image, typical of the carte-de-visite format, features individual portraits of Booth, Atzerodt, Herold, Spangler, Arnold, O'Laughlin and Payne. The arrangement and style of the portraits, with their simple framing and focus on the individual, reflect the popularity of this type of photography during the mid-19th century. The work captures a significant moment in American history, immortalizing the faces of those involved in the assassination of a beloved president.