The attached article concerns the matter of President Lincoln's depression and how he attempted to counter-balance it's effects:
"Lincoln's story telling proclivities were well known in his own time. On the old eighth circuit in Illinois his humor and fund of anecdotes were proverbial. What was not so well known was that the tall, homely man needed a blanket of humor to suppress the fires of depression, gloom, and sense of tragedy that almost consumed him".
Lincoln is remembered for having wisely remarked:
"Folks are as happy as they make their minds up to be."
Click here to read about Lincoln, the joke teller.
Click here to read about the clothing of President Lincoln.
Click here to read an 1862 review of the Civil War photographs of Mathew Brady.
From Amazon: Lincoln's Yarns and Stories: A Complete Collection of the Witty Anecdotes that Made Lincoln Famous as America's Greatest Story Teller