At least three photographers were at the first inauguration of Abraham Lincoln, one directly in front of the president-elect, another at a distance of approximately 100 yards, and a third on a raised platform especially constructed for the occasion. Only a few distant and scarcely discernible views of the event survive. In the photograph shown here, Lincoln, wearing a black silk hat, is barely visible under the wooden canopy. Lincoln removed the hat as he prepared to read his Inaugural Address. Reportedly, his arch rival, Senator Stephen A. Douglas, took the hat and held it in his lap throughout the ceremonies.