Alexander Gardner et alii

(Washington, D. C.: Philp & Solomons, 1866), 2 volumes, containing 100 albumen photographs printed by ALEXANDER GARDNER from negatives by HIMSELF, JAMES GARDNER, TIMOTHY O'SULLIVAN, DAVID KNOX, JOHN REEKIE, WILLIAM R. PYWELL, D. B. WOODBURY, W. MORRIS SMITH, BARNARD & GIBSON, and WOOD & GIBSON, each on a two-toned mount, the photographer's, printer's, and publisher's credits, and title, date, copyright, and plate number in letterpress on the mount. Oblong folio, gilt-lettered morocco with gilt-decorative borders and the publisher's gilt monogram, all edges gilt; a dated presentation, in ink, in a contemporary hand on the front flyleaf (NYPL 121; Truthful Lens 68) (2 volumes)

A detailed report for each plate is beyond the scope of this condition report; those wishing condition reports on individual specific plates are welcome to contact the Photographs Department. The strength and richness of the tonality of the individual prints varies throughout the volumes, from good to very good. The pages and plates are generally clean, with minimal soiling and signs of handling. Occasional retouching, fingerprints, and some yellowed adhesive residue are visible on some prints. Certain plates, especially those with light sky areas, exhibit uneven, faint streaking, likely due to the original mounting glue used on the reverse or possibly varnish on the photograph. A few prints are affixed slightly off-center on the pages. Most plates exhibit edge-fading to a degree and, as is typical, the first and last plates in each volume tend to be lightest in tonality. There are small tears at the periphery of many of the pages, not affecting the images. The covers are scuffed and scratched, and rubbed at the joints and spines. The spine is intact on both volumes, but is cracked in places along the joints and is fragile. Some of the plates, while still bound together, have separated from the spine (plates 18-50). The gilt-lettering and monogram are scuffed and have diminished luster, especially on the second volume. There are old cellotape repairs on a handful of text leaves. Specific condition notes include: Volume 1 The front endpaper is detached, and there is a loss to the lower right corner. The front flyleaf is inscribed in ink 'Anne P [?] Howard from her Husband Dec 31st 1866,' and has a small, old cellotape repair. The identity of Anne Howard and the circumstances under which she received this 'Sketch Book' are unknown. Plates 25 through 33 are bound out of order. Plates 29 through 32 follow plate 24; plates 25 through 28 follow plate 32. The rear flyleaf is missing. Volume 2 The front endpaper is detached, and the front flyleaf is missing. Plate 58 – There is glue residue along upper right edge of the image. Plates 96 and 97 – There are small tidelines along upper and lower edges of these 2 plates.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Gardner’s Photographic Sketch Book of the War, the definitive collection of photographs of the American Civil War, is a landmark in the history of photography and in the history of the photographically-illustrated book.  Recognized from the first as a monument of its kind, the Sketch Book was praised by all of the early historians of the medium, among them Robert Taft, Beaumont Newhall, and Helmut Gernsheim, and it continues to be discussed as prototypical photojournalism today.  Comparing the Sketch Book photographs to the battle sketches that appeared regularly in Harper’s Weekly during the War, Newhall observed,

‘Gardner’s dead sharpshooter, his long rifle gleaming by his side, is not imagined.  This man lived; this is the spot where he fell; this is how he looked in death.  There lies the great psychological difference between photography and the graphic arts; this is the quality which photography can impart more strongly than any other picture making’ (The History of Photography: From 1839 to the Present Day, 1964, p. 71). 

The two-volume set offered here is unusual in that it carries a dated, personal presentation, in ink, on the front flyleaf: ‘Anne P [?] Howard.  From her Husband.  Dec.  31^st, 1866.”  Anne Peterson, Curator of Photographs at the DeGolyer Library and an authority on the Sketch Book, notes that the volumes only became available to subscribers near the end of February 1866; and that they were an expensive purchase—at that time, $150 for the pair, or around $2,000 in 2010 (cf. Anne Peterson, ‘Alexander Gardner in Review,’ History of Photography, Vol. 34, No. 4, November 2010, pp. 356-67).  The original subscriber of the Sketch Book offered here, with its early presentation, is likely to have been someone of means, someone eager to acquire the set within a year of publication, and someone with more than a casual interest in the conflict. Copies of the Sketch Book with a contemporary presentation are rare. 

Although the projected edition of Gardner’s volumes may have been as large as 200, Peterson has, as of this writing, located evidence of 73 sets, 51 of which are in institutional collections.  In her ongoing census of the Sketch Book, Peterson notes that only a handful of copies with a documented, early acquisition date are extant: the Boston Athenaeum purchased a set in July of 1866, followed by the British Library in May of 1867.  Generals Grant, Sherman, and Meigs owned copies, as did Commodore Matthew Perry, although the dates of these acquisitions are unknown.