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The Emancipation Proclamation, quoted below Lincoln's portrait, was put into effect on 1 January 1863, and by the time this print was issued Grant was pushing his campaign to Richmond while Sherman was marching to Georgia. Tens of thousands of slaves were liberated by Union troops or fled plantations. This print shows a Union soldier entering a Negro home and reading a newspaper with the text of the proclamation to a three generation family. A range of emotions are displayed through faces of those who feared the unknown, having never been anyone but a slave, hope by those who wanted a better future for the children, and triumph by those who wanted to be free. Symbols of the agrarian life are seen in the room: sugar cane, cotton, and a side of bacon. Henry W. Herrick (1824-1906) was a painter, illustrator and wood engraver. James W. Watts (d. 1895) was a banknote engraver. Both artist and engraver worked primarily in New England where abolitionists were turning to helping the newly liberated in the South. $1,200
Louis N. Rosenthal. "The Soldier's Dream of Home." Philadelphia: William Smith, 1864. Lithograph. 16 1/2 x 22 1/4. Repaired tears in margins and old stains at top just touching image. Otherwise, very good condition.
Louis N. Rosenthal was one of four brothers who emigrated from Poland around the middle of the century and worked in lithography in Philadelphia. The Civil War, not surprisingly, offered Louis and his brothers an opportunity of producing prints with a ready market. This stirring image shows a soldier sleeping in an encampment, over which flies the American flag, while dreaming of coming home to his family. A sad print which would have rung a familiar note with its intended audience of those who stayed at home and dreamed of their sons, husbands and fathers away at the front. $450
"The Union Soldier's Dream Of Home." New York, ca. 1864. Lithograph by Thomas & Eno, New York. 11 3/4 x 16 1/4. Several expertly repaired tears and marginal chipping; professionally conserved and lined. Overall, very good condition and fine appearance.
Another soldier's "Dream Of Home," this done by a New York lithographic firm. A very similar composition and appearance, indicating the popularity of the image. This print includes a poem about the soldier's dream, perhaps the inspiration for this and the previous print. $325
John B. Bachelder. "Battle of Gettysburg. (Repulse of Longstreet's Assault.)" Credits read, "Painted by James Walker." [b.l.] "Historically arranged by John B. Bachelder." [b.c.] "Engraved by H.B. Hall Jr." [b.r.] Copyright by Bachelder in Washington dated 1876. Plus "Copyright 1905 Lizzie B. Bachelder." This 1905 printing is a third state. 13 3/4 x 32 3/4 (image) plus full and generous margins beyond platemark. Strong strike. Some vertical cracks in paper repaired. Good condition with fine overall impression.
While the guns were still warm after the Battle of Gettysburg, historians, including artists, photographers and cartographers were attracted to record the monumental and terrifying battle which was fought in June and July of 1863. One of these was the artist-cartographer John Badger Bachelder (1825-94) who compiled an incredibly detailed map of the battlefield showing troop positions on all three days of the contest. In 1870 Bachelder's talent and knowledge of the battle were used again when the historical painter James Walker (1819-1889) painted this scene of the repulse of Longstreet's charge. An immigrant from Britain, Walker had been in Mexico City during the American siege in 1847 and was highly respected for later providing the Capitol in Washington with the huge painting of the "Battle of Chapultepec" which still hangs there. Walker called on Bachelder to assist him in the artistic and historical arrangement of the figures. Presumably the painting and the engraving by Henry Bryan Hall, Jr. (ca. 1830-1900) were done in New York City where both artists were working. The artistic rendering of Longstreet's charge is both vivid and accurate, thanks to Bachelder's expertise. This dramatic print is a monumental piece of American battle art. See: An Album of American Battle Art 1755-1918, 139-41, for a discussion of Walker's paintings. Ref.: Holzer and Neely, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory. The Civil War in Art, pp. 128-9. $950
Max Rosenthal. "Battle of Antietam." Philadelphia: William Smith, 1865. Chromolithograph by M. Rosenthal. 22 3/4 x 27 1/2 (full sheet). Printed by L.N. Rosenthal. Folded down center. Excellent condition.
This heroic depiction shows the Union Army staff during the Battle of Antietam, September 1862, in which Gen. George McClellan turned back Gen. Robert E. Lee's first invasion of the North. Known at the bloodiest single day of the war, the battle was a technical Union victory that provided Lincoln with political advantages centering on the Emancipation Proclamation and on warning the European powers away from alliance with the Confederacy. Published in the final year of the war, this dramatic print was an emotional presentation of a great victory remembered. $450
Christian Schussele. "How We Won The Battle." Philadelphia: Bradley & Co., 1865. 10 1/2 x 15 3/4. Engraving by John Sartain. Excellent condition.
After the Civil War, a market developed for prints of the war and its aftermath, many of them with a melancholy theme. This sentimental scene, with the legend, "To all who have sorrowed with, or suffered for, our beloved land in her hour of peril, this engraving is respectfully dedicated," is typical. A veteran narrates tales of the war, while his listeners range from the excited and fascinated children to the grieving widow. Besides providing a sentimental contrast in facial expressions, the print also shows much about the decorative arts in a middle class American home: furniture, textiles, a portrait of George Washington, a picture of a plant, a newspaper on the floor and an almanac tied to the window ledge, and best of all veteran's sword and campaign hat hung on the wall to be retired. $400
Thure de Thulstrup. "Battle of Allatoona Pass." Boston: L. Prang, 1887. 15 x 21 7/8. Chromolithograph. With short repaired tear. Otherwise, very good condition.
A striking image that is one of the rare and important Civil War series issued by Louis Prang between 1886 and 1888. In the early 1880s, Century Magazine had issued a very popular work entitled Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, and the Kurz & Allison firm had issued a large chromolithograph of Gettysburg. In response to these, Louis Prang decided to issue a portfolio of 18 elaborate chromolithographs of important battles of the war. Prang termed his prints "aquarelle facsimile prints" to distinguish them from "mere" chromos. Prang claimed they were made by a "new and secret process", but primarily they were chromos done without any line work. They were based on watercolors commissioned by Prang and they were intended to be naturalistic and accurate, for Prang was aiming these prints for veterans and their descendants. Prang got testimonials on their accuracy from prominent veterans and he included detailed text on the battles involved. The prints were quite popular, helping to create a great surge in patriotic nostalgia about the war.
There were 18 prints in all: 6 of eastern battles; 6 of western battles; and 6 naval images. There was intended to be something for everyone, and Prang focused mostly on heroes who were still living at the time. The were issued either in a portfolio or separately for framing.. At first they were issued in parts over time, but eventually were packaged into three groups: East/West/Naval. These are not to be confused with the more common later Prang chromos, also issued by the American Lithographic Company. Not only are these larger and more finely produced, but they are much scarcer.
This image shows the battle over the railroad depot near Kenesaw Mountain. On October 5, 1864, the Confederates attacked the Union troops under Brig. General John M. Corse. He was instructed to "Hold fast. We are coming" by General Sherman, and Corse not only held his position, but launched a successful counterattack-the scene depicted here. $850
James E. Taylor. “Sherman’s Foragers on a Georgia Plantation.” Pencil and wash drawing signed at bottom right “James E. Taylor 1888.” 14 1/4 x 24 1/4. Probably drawn in New York. Excellent condition. Reproduced in Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, IV: p. 674.
During the American Civil War James Edward Taylor (1839-1901) was a battlefront artist working for Frank Leslie’s Magazine. He made a reputation for himself during the war and afterwards went west to continue doing illustrations of events and landscapes. He left Leslie’s in 1883 to become an independent illustrator and was soon after contacted by the publishers of The Century Company to provide scenes of the recent Civil War from his memories. A series of articles about the war had appeared in The Century Magazine and were very popular, so the editors decided to gather those articles and more along with vivid illustrations for a set of four volumes which became the classic Battles and Leaders of the Civil War.
This drawing was used to illustrate an article by Capt. Daniel Oakey of the Second Massachusetts Volunteers who wrote in the middle of an article entitled “Marching through Georgia and the Carolinas” that “Sometimes in the midday halt a stray pig that had cunningly evaded the foragers would venture forth in the belief of having escaped ‘the cruel war,’ and would find his error, alas! too late, by encountering our column.” (II: p. 675) The slaughter of the pig is the main focus, but Taylor also included pictures of other acts by foragers, a lovely vignette of slaves looking on with fright, and depictions of buildings that include a large cane press. There is much emotional history in this portrayal. This is a superb, historical illustration. $2,400
E. Valois. "The Surrender of General Lee and His entire Army to Lieut. General U.S. Grant, April 9th 1865." New York: Thomas Kelly, ca.1864. 17 3/8 x 27 3/4. Lithograph. Original hand color. Some repaired tears at edges not affecting image. Overall, very good condition.
A strong print of the surrender of General Robert E. Lee to General U.S. Grant. This famous scene is well rendered in this print issued shortly after the event. The two generals are shown standing in front of a large tree, with the document of surrender being handed from Grant to Lee. Behind Grant are arrayed the northern troops, and behind Lee are the defeated Confederate troops and the city of Appomattox in the background. Nicely composed and executed, this is a fine historic document of this important event. $750
"The Surrender of General Lee. And His Entire Army to Lieut. General Grant, April 9th. 1865." Philadelphia: J. Smith, [1865]. 18 3/4 x 25. Lithograph by T. Sinclair. Very good condition.
Another handsome print of surrender of Robert E. Lee to U.S. Grant on April 9, 1865. In the foreground, a restrained Grant hold the 'Terms of Surrender,' while the noble Lee holds out his hand to take the document. Behind each general stands his army stretching to the horizon. A serious rendering of "this memorable event [that] terminated the Great Rebellion." $725
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