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For your consideration is an original c.18961901 cabinet photograph of William McKinley (18431901), 25th President of the United States, bearing the original manuscript presentation inscription Yours Very Truly / Wm McKinley in dark ink beneath the portrait. Measuring approximately 4.25 by 6.65 inches, the photograph is mounted on its original cream cabinet card with the printed credit Albert B. King / New York along the lower margin. The verso is blank. Close examination of the inscription shows pronounced variation in ink density, broad-to-fine pen strokes, localized pooling, tapered terminals, and irregular interaction with the card surface, all strongly supporting that the inscription was individually applied in ink rather than reproduced as part of the printed card design.
The photographic image can be positively identified with the established Bakers Art Gallery portrait of William McKinley, produced at Columbus, Ohio, during the mid-1890s. Bakers Art Gallery was one of Ohios leading photographic studios and is independently documented as having photographed McKinley, including a copyrighted portrait recorded contemporaneously as Hon. Wm. McKinley during 18951896. The present card represents a separately issued New York publication of that portrait by Albert B. King, whose name appears on the mount. Albert B. King should therefore be understood as the printer or publisher of this particular issue rather than as the original photographer. The physical format is correctly termed a cabinet card, not a carte de visite or CDV.
The inscription itself is fully consistent with McKinleys documented autograph practice. He frequently employed complimentary formulations such as Yours very truly and commonly signed Wm McKinley during the later 1890s. The absence of the earlier Jr. form is likewise appropriate to this period. Comparison with authenticated McKinley material shows compatible letter construction, abbreviated Wm, forceful diagonal strokes, variable pen pressure, and natural ink flow. While formal third-party authentication would require physical examination by a recognized autograph service, the visible evidence strongly supports the conclusion that the inscription is original manuscript ink rather than a printed facsimile, and its handwriting is consistent with genuine examples of McKinleys hand.
William McKinley served as President from 1897 until his assassination in September 1901, presiding over the Spanish-American War, the annexation of Hawaii, the acquisition of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, and the emergence of the United States as a major international power. The cabinet card survives in attractive original condition with scattered light spotting, minor surface marks, edge and corner wear, and a small shallow indentation visible near the upper portion of the blank verso, all consistent with age and handling. Combining a recognized mid-1890s presidential portrait, an original Albert B. King New York cabinet-card issue, and a period manuscript inscription consistent with McKinleys autograph, the piece represents an especially desirable example of late nineteenth-century American presidential photographic memorabilia.
