217. A prohibitive photo (#O-11) – we have only offered this image once in our 13 years. This is a silver print cabinet card, the original being an ambrotype taken by W.J. Thompson of Monmouth, IL on October 11, 1858. En-route to Quincy, Lincoln stopped in Monmouth, this portrait taken two days before the sixth debate with Stephen Douglas in Quincy.  Just before the ambro was made, Lincoln gave a three-hour speech to an enthusiastic crowd. A rare study, the original now in the National Portrait Gallery. On gray textured mount, 6 x 8” overall, by Harrison of Galesburg, IL. Excellent!    (Est. $1,000-1,500)

218. From Brady’s Gallery!  Mounted photograph of Lincoln, McClellan and others in camp at Antietam. Printed legend on verso: “Group of President Lincoln, Gen. McClellan and Suite, At Headquarters Army of Potomac, previous to reviewing the troops and the Battle-Field of Antietam, 3d. Oct. 1862.” Albumen measures 4 1/4 x 3”. Pinhole to top of mount, soling and scattered small stains in the background, great detail and clarity. A terrific image that would look quite fine matted and framed for presentation. (Est. $1,500-2,000)

219. Mounted 3 1/2 x 5” silver print on 7 x 9 3/4” board by Nash of Peoria, IL, after the portrait by Hessler, taken June 3, 1860. A period inscription on verso indicates this was made from the orginal glass plate negative on April 21, 1891. Simlar in nature and origin to the classic prints by G. Ayres of the same time period. This format is quite different… a very lovely photograph in very fine condition!     (Est. $800-1,200)

220. Large, unmounted albumen of the Anthony/Berger portrait of Lincoln taken in February 1864. Measuring a bountiful 8 x 10”, wonderful tone and contrast, the sheet, clearly a 19th century enlargement, was never mounted and makes a dramatic presentation… it would look magnificent when matted and framed!  (Est. $400-600)

221. #O-77 printed from the original negative in the possession of M.P. Rice. This image was taken on November 8, 1863 by Alexander Gardner. The silver print measures 7 x 9” affixed to an 11 x 14” mount imprinted Herbert George Studio. Springfield Illinois in original Herbert George Studio mahogany frame with original backing. Spectacular rich tones and detail with the soul of Lincoln looking at you. Pristine condition. ( Est.$500-700)

222. Similar to preceeding, different presentation of the matted and framed Rice photo, inscribed in the negative “Copyright ‘91 by M. P. Rice.” 5 1/2 x 7 1/2” [sight], 14 x 16” overall. Rice had access to the original Gardner negatives and produced a series of high quality prints. Considered one of the most dramatic Lincoln portraits!  (Est. $400-600)

223. Robert E. Lee on his horse Traveller, taken October 1864 at Cottage Farm, Virginia, per period inked inscription at base of photo. 11 1/2 x 9 1/2”, housed in fine, old frame. Some foxing, age tones, a bit light – an extremely scarce, vintage portrait of a man referred to by his staff members as “The Great Tycoon”  and called “The King of Spades” by his soldiers given his propensity to have them “dig in”. (After that very strategy led to numerous victories including Cold Harbor, it became a term of endearment.) A touching Lee photo.
(Est. $3,000-4,000)

A mammoth, likely unpublished
photograph of George Custer by Gardner!

224. We believe this may represent an unpublished imperial print, the study entitled Sheridan and Generals. We have found two variants of this group portrait but cannot source an example of this specific shot. Measures 16 x 20” overall, taken by Alexander Gardner on January 2, 1865, it presents General Philip H. Sheridan and his staff of generals including George Armstrong Custer. Of the three photographs of Sheridan and staff taken that day, examples of two can be sourced. This appears to be a slightly more elaborate staging with the iconic Gardner studio chair. Sheridan (standing at far left) is joined by Major General George Crook, Major General Wesley Merritt, Brigadier General James W. Forsythe and Major General George Armstrong Custer – all studying plans on the table as Sheridan looks into the camera. Sheridan garnered high regard for his September 19, 1864 victory during the Shenandoah Valley campaigns including Winchester, Fishers Hill and Cedar Creek. Following his victories at Winchester and Fishers Hill, Sheridan was summoned to Washington by Grant. When Sheridan returned to his troops, they were in full retreat. He rallied his forces and led the charge to victory at Cedar Creek. On April 6, 1865, Sheridan captured nearly a quarter of Lee’s army at the battle of Sayler’s Creek blocking Lee’s escape and effectively cornered him at Appomattox Courthouse where he surrendered on April 9th. General Grant wrote of Sheridan’s performance “I believe General Sheridan has no superior as a general, either living or dead, and perhaps not an equal.” The board has surface dirt that can easily be cleaned and there is a chip on the upper center of mount, meaningless once matted. A wonderful unpublished imperial print in excellent condition.      (Est. $12,000-15,000)

225. Another mammoth albumen. General Winfield Scott with staff on the porch of his West Point headquarters, an enormous mounted photograph, 10 x 13” on a 16 x 20” hand-titled board. Photographed by Mathew Brady September 5, 1861, part of his Incidents of War. Some emulsion spots on image and corners of mount chipped, otherwise excellent.
   (Est. $600-700)

226. From the same series as the previous lot, another mammoth albumen – this of Secretary of War Edwin McMasters Stanton. 8 1/2 x 13” on a 16 x 20” board. Likely published with similar photos in a portfolio edition. Some chipping along left margin, light scattered foxing not affecting the photo. Circa 1865. (Est. $300-400)

227. Appropriately part of the “Horrors of War” series. An 8 1/2” x 6 1/2” mounted albumen with ornate red borders, 9” x 11”overall, by Alexander Gardner and published by Taylor & Huntington entitled “Image of a dead Confederate soldier in a field along the Rose Woods, Gettysburg on July 5, 1863.” Gardner composed this scene adding his prop rifle, a canteen and a severed hand. The verso lists other Brady and Gardner photographs offered for sale. Bend on lower right corner of mount, a few stains on mount, otherwise this dramatic and difficult to find image is in great condition. (Est. $500-700)

228. 8 1/2 x 5 1/4” mounted albumen of a large number of hospital tents, within a gold-ruled border, titled “General Hospital, Near Gettysburg, Pa. [Camp Letterman].” Published by Tyson Brothers of Gettysburg as part of their “Views from the Battle Field of Gettysburg” series. Shows five medical orderlies posing in front of a group tents. Light, normal aging else quite fine.  (Est. $1,000-1,200)

229. Mounted albumen titled “Deck of U.S. Steamer Pocahontas.” Photographed by H.P. Moore April 15, 1862, 8 x 6”. On April 5th 1861, the Pocahontas was assigned to a small Army-Navy force sent to Charleston Harbor to provide provisions to Fort Sumter, but upon arriving on the 13th, found Major Robert Anderson in the process of surrendering. The Pocahontas was commissioned to patrol the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers and the Chesapeake, protecting routes that approached Washington, D.C. against possible Confederate naval attack. On June 1, 1864, the Pocahontas sunk after colliding with the U.S. steamship City of Bath near Cape May, NJ. Image a little light, faults to board as shown easilly remedied with an overmat. A rare photo of a Union Civil War steamer, full crew on deck, heading out to sea!  (Est. $300-350)

230. Quite an impressive family! A 14 x 12” [sight] matted and framed albumen of five members of the Delafield family, signed by each on the mount. Includes Edward, Richard (“Brigd. General Corps of Engineers USA”), Joseph, Robert and Henry. Joseph, trained as a lawyer, was a veteran of the War of 1812, oversaw the mapping of the northern boundaries as a result of the Treaty of Ghent, and was a prominent naturalist. Joseph’s twin brother Henry also served in the War of 1812 and was a highly successful merchant. Edward, another War of 1812 vet, was a distinguished physician and founded the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, as well as the New York Ophthalmological Society. Richard was a military engineer who graduated first in his class at West Point in 1818. He was employed in the construction of the defenses of Hampton Roads and twice served as Superintendent at West Point. He traveled with George McClellan to the Crimea in 1855-6 and served with Edwin Morgan in 1861-3 in the reorganization and equipping  of the state forces. He was made Chief of Engineers in 1864. We assume Robert Delafield was a cousin of the other four distinguished sitters. Scattered mottling, resonant tone, circa 1870. (Est. $800-1,000)

231. Tinted albumen of a Union private who served at Fort Richardson, VA (part of the defenses of Washington, D.C.) posed in front of a military backdrop. Likely a 1st CT or MA Heavy Artillery soldier. 5 1/2 x 7” (sight), in a fancy Victorian walnut frame. (Est. $250-350)

Celebrating the end of war… the Grand Review in Washington, D.C.!
232. Mounted albumen with red ornate border, 9 x 8” overall by Alexander Gardner from his famous series “Memories of the War”. Entitled Illustrations of the Grand Review – Washington D.C. May 23 and 24, 1865. Published by Philip & Solomons, Washington, D.C., quite pristine.
  (Est. $750-1,000)

233. Three (3) mounted albumens on titled boards depicting various scenes from U.S. Grant’s funeral. “Camp of the 5th U.S. Artillery” depicts 25+ uniformed soldiers sitting or standing on wooden platforms outside tents on the banks of the Hudson River. “The North Atlantic Squadron Firing Salute” (the most significant mourning observance for the Navy), and at the close of the funeral ceremonies at Grant’s Tomb “Early Morning Scene at Riverside Park” with city officials in front of the Tomb. Copyright 1886, photos 10 x 12” on 15 x 17” mounts.  (Est. $300-500)

234. Marvellous outdoor photo taken at Gettysburg picturing General Webb in his tent. Alexander S. Webb, winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor for gallantry at the Battle of Gettysburg – he repulsed Pickett’s famous charge and lead his men while wounded. Webb saw action at the battles of the Wilderness and at Spotsylvania where he was severely wounded and subsequently brevetted colonel. On Jan. 11, 1865, he returned to command the Army of the Potomac in operations before Petersburg, the campaign which resulted in the Confederate surrender under Gen. Lee. Original 8 x 6” portrait. (Est. $500-750)

235. Fabulous mounted albumen of a Union guard at City Point, VA by Brady. Albumen measures 3 x 4” on 9 x 8” board.  City Point was the headquarters of Gen. Grant during the Siege of Petersburg in 1864-5. To serve the Union Army, two large military installations were built-a supply depot and the Depot Field Hospital. During the siege, City Point was one of the busiest ports in the world. On March 27, 1865, President Lincoln met at City Point with Grant and Sherman along with Adm. David Porter aboard the River Queen. (Est. $300-500)

236. 5 x 6” mounted albumen. irregularly trimmed to edges, of General Philip Sheridan and his officers. The Union Major General commanded at Chickamauga, Chattanooga & Army of the Shenandoah – cutting off the final Confederate retreat at Appomattox. A famous Indian fighter, Sheridan’s fighting prowess was evident throughout the war: from Booneville to the elimination of J.E.B. Stuart at Yellow Tavern. Slight foxing/toning to top left corner and right edge, some abrasions to lower left and right sides, scarce. (Est. $300-500)

237. RARE photo of Col. N.C. Macrae, veteran of the Black Hawk War and frontier soldier, commissioned into the 3rd infantry May 1851 and retired in September of 1861. 4 x 6” albumen affixed to an 8 x 10” mount by Landy of Cincinnati, with accompanying bio. Excellent contrast. (Est. $200-400)

238. Simlar to previous lot, mounted albumen of Leonard A. Harris, colonel of the Second Ohio Vols., with accompanying bio reading in part, “…his carreer was brilliant…He was with the skirmishers of the regiment when they routed the bushwackers from their ambush near West Liberty, and he led, sword in hand, the flanking party that decided the sharp action at Ivy Mountain, where Humphrey Marshall’s marauders were put to flight by the forces of General Nelson.” Fine contrast, a fabulous, SCARCE study.     (Est. $200-400)

239. Another mounted albumen by Landy, this of General Godfrey Weitzel (1783-1884). Weitzel was a major general in the Union Army as well as the acting Mayor of New Orleans during the Federal occupation of the city. Ulysses S. Grant placed Weitzel in command of all Federal troops north of the Appomattox River during the final operations against Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Weitzel took possession of Richmond, the Confederacy’s capital, in April 1865, establishing his headquarters in the home of Jefferson Davis, where he received President Lincoln on his visit to the fallen rebel capital. A lovely portrait!    (Est. $300-500)

240. The Cabin Old Abe built with his father! Mounted albumen, 17 x 13” on 18 x 22” mount, the log cabin that Lincoln and his father built on Goose Nest Prairie near Farmington, IL in 1831 upon the family’s arrival in that state from Indiana. Having reached his majority, Lincoln went out on his own after this one last task to help his father. The photo is signed in the negative “Copyrighted by Abraham Lincoln Log Cabin Ass’n 1891.” Abe’s father died here in 1851; Sarah Lincoln continued to live in the cabin. In 1891 Eleanor Gridley, secretary of the Lincoln Log Cabin Assoc., met John Hall, Sarah Bush’s grandson, who lived in the cabin until 1890. “Weather-beaten, dilapidated, and pitifully forlorn,” Gridley wrote, “it stood before us”…as a sacred site…” Before Gridley left, she convinced Hall to sell the cabin to the association. “On her final day Gridley brought in Chicago photographers J.W. Root to photograph the cabin… it was the last time anyone would ever see the old building on its site.” The cabin was dismantled and moved to Chicago. Two years later it was displayed at the Chicago World’s Fair…and then disappeared forever. The albumen is in excellent condition, but the   board has loss and chipping as shown, remedied with a simple mat. (Est. $400-800)

241. Another mammoth albumen, this of Massachusetts Senator and abolitionist Charles Sumner. An enormous mounted albumen, 13 x 16 ” on a 19 x 22” board with imprint “Entered according to Act of Congress by J.W. Black & Co. in the office of the Librarian at Washington, April 1st , 1874.” (The copyright is from the year Sumner died.) Mounting remnants from old mat along edges, minor foxing, portrait in excellent condition simply needing a new mat. (Est.$200-400)

242. Autographs of Lincoln and his Cabinet Members! (Well… at least a period photo of the autographs!) A wonderful mounted 8 x 11” albumen, detailed: “Autographs of the President and Cabinet. Photographed by permission, from the originals, obtained by Hon. N.S. Howe, and donated to the Great Soldiers Fair. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865, by Edwin P. Hill, in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of Massachusetts.” This “souvenir” was sold at Sanitary Fairs to raise money for wounded soldiers, widows and orphans. Some specks, still in great condition with original frame. (Est. $300-350)

243. A special item… a Civil War photograph on leather! A hand-tinted CDV of a Union corporal posed biting down on a cartridge! Unlike tintypes with emulsion fixed to a plate, the emulsion here is on leather! Minor crack at top detracts little, housed in a standard orange paper mount. RARE.   (Est. $250-350)

244. Collection of miniature CDVs. The first time we have seen these… really small, miniature cartes — albumen on boards! Lincoln and six Union generals, the photos of the generals are photographic copies of signed full-size CDVs, each measures 1 x 1 3/8”. Their use is unknown, but they appear very much like tobacco premiums or sports cards and may be an early precursor of same. (Est. $300-500)

245. Group of nine (9) snapshot photos, affixed to album pages, some with captions, assembled by Frederick Hill Meserve,  made for one of the custom “books” he would occasionally assemble. Includes a silver print of the rocking chair Lincoln sat in when shot at Ford’s Theater, Meserve himself photographing President Eisenhower on the White House lawn using Mathew Brady’s camera (two examples), three of Ike and Henry Cabot Lodge, a single Ike, Ike at Mt. Rushmore and Ike with Harris Dunn. Fun shots!    (OPEN)

246. Mathew Brady advertises his services! Lithograph of “President Zachary Taylor and his Cabinet. Published by M. B. Brady daguerrian artist” with facsimile signatures below. 23 x 15” mounted to a titled sheet with subtext “From his celebrated Daguerreotypes, taken at Washington, April 1849. The original portraits are for exhibition with many others at Brady’s National Gallery, No. 205 Broadway, New York.” Loss to last line of text and two corners, generally very fine. Nicely matted and framed. (The only example we know to sell was in a Rex Stark catalog about five years ago for $4,000.) Despite fault at bottom, a fine graphic from the beginning of a career that would document so much of America’s history in the Lincoln era. (Est. $2,000-4,000)

247. Scarce 1864 photography journal detailing a “New and Unusual Photo of Lincoln in New York City.” Aug 26, 1864 issue of The British Journal of Photography, 12pp., filled with articles on the latest improvements in photography, with a most interesting article about a new photographic portrait of Lincoln – a mosaic made up of tiny photos of important persons (pre-dating by over 100 years well-known mosaics of Lincoln made using modern technology!). As described, “A New York photographer has published a portrait of President Lincoln, which is likely to prove acceptable to all parties. At first glance it appears to be a photograph of “Old Abe,” taken when he had the smallpox a few months ago; but on a closer examination the seeming pustules are found to be minute photographic likeness of the distinguished generals, statesmen, politicians,, literary and scientific men, actors…The likenesses, which are scattered all over the physiognomy of the President, number upwards of 400…and are so exceedingly well executed as to be at once recognized…yet, taken together, they constitute as ugly a picture of “Old Abe” as any of the others that have been published.” Disbound, w/binding strip expertly applied at left. VF.   (Est. $60-80)

248. Extremely early photo-illustrated book. “Homes Of American Statesman.” (NY: G.P. Putnam & Co., 1854.) Embossed leather covers, gilt-stamped spine and edges, 469pp. with numerous engravings, folding facsimile manuscripts, and most importantly a photographic frontispiece: a salt print photo of the John Hancock house in Boston. An important pioneering work on the historic homes and sites associated with Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, Jay, Hamilton, Marshall, and others. Most notable for its first use of an actual photo illustration. A rare item from the earliest uses of photography and publishing. Copies have auctioned up to $3,000. Spine separated but intact, moderate foxing to frontispiece, a significant item of photographic history in the United States.  (Est. $800-1,200)

249. The Great Central Sanitary Fair at Philadelphia with tipped-in albumens. Memorial of the Great Central Fair for the U.S. Sanitary Commission, Held at Philadelphia, June 1864 by Charles J. Stille. (Caxton Press, Philadelphia: 1864.) 212pp. with three photos of the fair by R. Newall, including a bird’s eye view, hall of banners, and a magnificent silver trophy. Ex-Brookline Library copy with their bookplate and stamp on title page and catalog number label on spine. Binding loose, but generally fine.   (Est. $100-200)

250. Victorian CDV Album with Music Box. A terrific CDV album containing 22 photos at front. The second half of the book is a cleverly disguised music box, visible in a small glass window in the final “page” of the book. Most of the cartes bear Mass. imprints, many from Lowell, with a few from Brockton and Beverly. Binding cracked, minor rubbing. We are unsure if the music box plays as it is lacking the key. The first we’ve seen!    (Est. $100-300)

251. Seven (7) great Civil War-era lantern slides: Union and Confederate soldiers shaking hands over the American flag; battle entitled “Mid scenes of Trials and Dangers;” a G.A.R. badge by Harbach of Philadelphia; Liberty with a sword and flag; a rare image of the apotheosis with Columbia mourning over Lincoln’s coffin; a Sons of Veterans badge titled “In Friendship, Charity and Loyaly” by Harry Stains; and a swearing-in. All fine and vibrant.    (Est. $200-400)