CONFEDERATE WAR ETCHINGS

[Volck, Adalbert J.]

Published by [Philadelphia, 1880

Index leaf printed in red and twenty-nine line etchings on India paper, executed in various sizes, and mounted on stiff larger sheets. As issued, without titlepage, and with plates loose in the portfolio. Folio. Original half black cloth and paper-covered portfolio, printed paper label on front board reading, "Confederate War Etchings. 100 Sets Printed. No. [blank]." Remnant of cloth ties, boards shelfworn and rubbed, two closed tears and fraying to cloth at spine head, modern bookplate on rear pastedown. Pencil check marks to each entry on Index leaf. Mounts a bit toned and stained with some edge wear, etchings in very nice condition. Overall very good. The second, and earliest obtainable, edition of Volck's famous collection of Civil War etchings, reissuing work that first appeared in the original first and second series issued by subscription between 1861 and 1864. The first edition or series of Civil War etchings by Volck was published under the name "V. Blada," apparently for subscribers, in a supposed edition of 200 copies, sometime during the middle of the war. That first series was entitled SKETCHES FROM THE CIVIL WAR. It contained thirty etchings and was suppressed because its content bordered on treason. A second series was issued sometime after the first, but before the end of the war, bringing the total number of etchings to forty-five. However, all of these wartime issues are rare to the point of extinction, and none have appeared on the market in modern times. This set is the reissue as described by Howes, generally thought to have been done in the 1880s. The printed label on the front cover indicates it is one of only 100 copies printed, but the number line is not filled out. The etchings vary between rather idealized southern scenes, such as Stonewall Jackson leading his men in prayer, to vicious and vitriolic attacks on the North (a white being sacrificed on an altar labeled "Negro Worship"). It is due to the inclusion of such images that it is easy to see why they were deemed treasonous. The sketches are superbly executed and often reproduced in modern histories of the Civil War. In his book on Volck, George McCullough Anderson states: "The vitriolic nature of some of these drawings leaves no doubt that V. Blada felt strongly and expressed those feelings in the manner he knew best - as a non-combatant seeking to build morale and support for the cause in which he believed. His weapons were his artistic temperament and ability." "The original issue was probably suppressed by the author as the caricatures bordered on treason. The re-issued form was doubtless made up of the suppressed sheets or printed from the original copper-plates. One of the plates, 'Meeting of the Southern emissaries and Lincoln,' had evidently been lost in storage, so does not appear in that issue." - Howes. A rare group of controversial Civil War views, here in a later issue, made from the original plates. Not in Sabin or Coulter. HOWES V138, "aa." ANDERSON, THE WORK OF ADALBERT JOHANN VOLCK, passim. Seller Inventory # WRCAM56441

Bibliographic Details

Title: CONFEDERATE WAR ETCHINGS
Publisher: [Philadelphia
Publication Date: 1880