The Lincoln Ear

Beyond question, the subject in the 1843 daguerreotype is not Abraham Lincoln, and the photos accompanying your article provide irrefutable proof of this. Please refer to the computer-generated transition from the 1843 daguerreotype to the well-known 1846 daguerreotype of Lincoln, shown on page 40 of your article, and compare the ear of the subject of the 1843 daguerreotype to that of Lincoln in the 1846 daguerreotype, noting that:

1. Lincoln’s ear protrudes more than that of the unidentified subject.

2. The external contours of the ears are different.

3. The configuration of the “antihelix” (the area of the external ear where the cartilage bends backward) is totally different.

While the ears do change shape somewhat with age, the basic configurations do not. There would certainly not be perceptible change in these specific anatomical characteristics during the short span of time between age thirty-four and age thirtyseven.