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A Rare Black-and-White of A Colorful Figure

Sam Houston (1793-1863) was one of the most colorful and controversial figures in Texas history. As commander-in-chief of the Texas Army in 1835, he was wounded in the Battle of San Jacinto, which secured Texas' independence from Mexico. When Texas joined the Union, Houston served as one of its senators. Later, Houston was elected to serve as governor of Texas.

[Sam Houston, full-length portrait, facing right], (1856 or 1857) American Tobacco Co. baseball card of James Leslie "Hippo" Vaughan James Vaughn, 1911

Portraits from life of Sam Houston are rare. There are only two known full-length portraits of Sam Houston--this unique salted-paper photograph and a daguerreotype in the collection of the museum of Fine Arts in Houston. Salted-paper prints were commercially produced for only a short period of time in the 1850s.

This photograph was taken in 1856 or 1857, when Houston was a U.S. senator. The photographer is unknown and the image has never been published. It makes a magnificent addition to the Library's collections of original photographs of famous Americans--images perennially in high demand by researchers.

Acquisition of this photograph would not have been possible without the generous support of Madison Council members Nancy Glanville Jewell, Ed Cox, Jay and Jean Kislak, Kay and Tom Martin, John Garvey, Caroline Rose Hunt, Ruth and Ken Altshuler, Jane and Bud Smith, James Elkins Jr. and Albert Small.

The Library of Congress' Prints and Photographs Division houses one of the world's largest and most extraordinary collections of photographs and other pictorial art. More than 1 million images are online in the Prints and Photographs Online Collection. You can also obtain information on ordering prints of these images for your home.


A. [Sam Houston, full-length portrait, facing right], (1856 or 1857). Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction information: Reproduction No.: LC-DIG-ppmsca-09599 (digital file from original photograph); Call No.: PH -- Unattributed, no. 22 [P&P]

B. American Tobacco Co. baseball card of James Leslie "Hippo" Vaughan James Vaughn, 1911. Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction information: Call No.: LOT 13163-25, no. 167