

<blockquote>"Perhaps did it come across that Brady and his assistants were selling the brand, as it were?"</blockquote>



I don't think so.  My impression was that Brady got the credit because Brady paid the photographers; plus, the photographers all knew and accepted the practice.  I found conflicting reports about whether or not Alexander Gardner left Brady because he resented that Brady was taking the credit or whether he left simply because that made sense for his own career.

Also, I don't think this photo made him famous.  I believe he was famous because of the bulk of his and his assistants' work.  I think that the result of this picture was significant, but, I found sooo much more information about the other photographs, I think that no one at the time realized what was going on.