The Peoria Riverfront Museum has acquired an original ambrotype portrait of Abraham Lincoln, shown in a square wooden frame with velvet matting. | Image via The Peoria Riverfront Museum

A rare original ambrotype photograph of Abraham Lincoln has been acquired by the museum in the city where the image was taken in 1858.

The Peoria Riverfront Museum now possesses the rare portrait of a beardless Lincoln that was taken in the city of Peoria, Illinois, more than 160 years ago. An ambrotype is an early form of photography that produces an image on a glass plate. Developed in the 1850s, it was a popular and cheaper alternative to daguerreotypes.

.

The photograph dates to 1858, when Lincoln was in Peoria preparing to debate Stephen Douglas in the U.S. Senate race. A local photographer named Roderick M. Cole asked to take his picture and after some hesitation, Lincoln agreed.

Cole captured the portrait of Lincoln at his Peoria studio at the corner of Main and Washington streets, using the ambrotype process.…