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Carte de Visite of John Wilkes Booth

A studio photograph of John Wilkes Booth as a stage actor, the type of celebrity portrait sold to fans and later used to identify him.

This carte de visite shows Booth as a celebrated actor, the public image later used to identify him as Lincoln's assassin.

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Sepia-toned studio portrait of a seated man with wavy dark hair and a thick mustache. He wears a dark double-breasted coat, a white shirt, and a patterned cravat. He rests one hand on his hip and holds a cane.
Carte de visite of John Wilkes Booth, photographer unknown.

About this source

What it is

This is a carte de visite, a small studio photograph of John Wilkes Booth taken during his career as a professional actor. It shows him dressed fashionably, seated with a cane, in the style typical of celebrity portraits of the period. The photographer is unknown.

Why it matters

Before he became known as Lincoln's assassin, Booth was a famous and admired stage actor, and images like this were produced and sold to fans who followed celebrities of the day. After the assassination, this same kind of photograph was used by investigators and the public to recognize and identify him, as seen on the reward broadside issued for his capture.

Look closer

  • What does this portrait suggest about how Booth wanted to be seen by the public?
  • How might this same image have been used differently before and after the assassination?
  • What does the popularity of celebrity photographs like this tell us about 19th-century culture?

This photograph is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of John Wilkes Booth on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Printed 1865 War Department broadside offering rewards for the capture of Surratt, Booth, and Harold. Three photographic portraits appear across the top, labeled Surratt, Booth, and Harold. Large text reads 'THE MURDERER' and lists rewards of $100,000, $50,000, and two $25,000 rewards, with descriptions and a signature by Edwin M. Stanton.Document

Primary source

Broadside for the Capture of John Wilkes Booth, John Surratt, and David Herold

1865

Photograph of a small single-shot pistol displayed in a museum case, the weapon used to assassinate Abraham Lincoln.Artifact

Primary source

John Wilkes Booth's Deringer Pistol

Henry Deringer · c. 1860s

Photograph of a small off-white calling card with handwritten pencil text reading 'Don't wish to bother you. Are you at home?' and the signature 'J. Wilkes Booth' with a small underline flourish below.Document

Primary source

Calling Card Left by John Wilkes Booth for Andrew Johnson

John Wilkes Booth · 14 April 1865

Sepia-toned photograph of a large crowd before a building with columns and an American flag. A speaker stands on a raised platform at center. White text labels read 'Abraham Lincoln' near the speaker and 'John Wilkes Booth' above him, near the upper crowd.Photograph

Primary source

Lincoln's Second Inauguration Photograph

Alexander Gardner

Black-and-white lithograph of the Lincoln assassination in the Ford's Theatre presidential box. Major Rathbone stands at left pointing. Miss Harris and Mrs. Lincoln sit center. President Lincoln sits in an armchair at right. John Wilkes Booth, labeled Assassin, stands at far right aiming a smoking pistol beside an American flag. Title and publisher text appear below.Painting

Secondary source

The Assassination of President Lincoln at Ford's Theatre

Currier & Ives · 1865

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