In bygone days, pictures on a wall were often updated by adding a picture in front of an existing one, making it easy to revert to a previous scene or, in some cases, hide a picture for posterity. Often, the picture frame was more revered than the subject. It was the latter case that first drew my eye to a discounted, quaint, obviously old, oval picture frame at a second hand store in Albuquerque.

The picture subject was that of a pleasing floral arrangement of daisies in a pretty white and gold vase. “That will make a nice addition to our picture wall at Nu2U”, I thought. Little did I realize what National treasure I’d just purchased for a tiny sum…

A suitable spot on our wall was chosen to hang the picture and it fit so nicely with the vintage theme of our little store. Hundreds of customers had casually observed the picture among the many on the wall without giving it a second glance. Fortunately, one of our employees, Leslie Pfaff, kept looking at the vintage frame and began to wonder if it might have a secret to share.

So, she carefully removed the backing to find, to her delight, a picture sandwiched between the backing and the daisies. As she turned the picture over, she quickly realized that this secret picture was a drawing of Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th President of the United States, depicted as a Lt. General!

Ulysses S. Grant was a West Point graduate who had served, then retired from the Army. However, during the Civil War, he returned and distinguished himself in several battles, drawing the attention of President Abraham Lincoln. President Lincoln promoted Grant to the rank of Lt. General in March 1864. The picture of Lt. General Grant appears to be from that era.

Following a search of available images of Grant, without success, a number of museums were contacted. The curator at the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library at the Mississippi State University indicated that this was a unique image of Lt. General Grant, never seen by them – very exciting, to be sure! Leslie had unlocked a secret that had been hidden behind those pretty daisies many years ago!

Nu2U will be donating the picture to the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library at the Mississippi State University.