An absolutely stunning portrait of the man who became the leader and spokesman for the Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King Jr. The photograph was taken circa 1961. At this point, King had led the Birmingham Bus Boycott of 1955, founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and participated in the 1960 Atlanta sit-ins that attempted to desegregate eating establishments. Despite all he had accomplished previously, when this photo was taken Dr. King still faced a hard road ahead of him. In the coming years lay the violence perpetrated on the marchers of the Birmingham campaign, the March on Washington and his “I (We) Have a Dream” speech and “Bloody Sunday” in Selma, Alabama. In this portrait, Dr. King gazes past the photographer and into the distance, as though gaining the strength to meet the hard challenges he knew lie ahead. The reverse of this historic portrait is almost as interesting as the front. The photo’s usage history has been recorded with numerous stamps, clippings and handwritten notations dating from 1961 through 1990. Most incredibly, the photo’s original negative has also been saved and is encapsulated on the reverse. As can be seen from the reverse, the photo has been well used throughout the decades, and there is toning from age and various surface abrasions present. The edges show wear, and the corners are rounded with some paper loss on the lower right edge. Regardless of the slight imperfection due to use, the portrait’s lights and darks remain balanced and sharp, making this every bit as striking a photo today as it was the day it was printed. The photo has been encapsulated and graded a Type 1 Authentic by PSA.