Maine Antique Digest March 2015

6-C Maine Antique Digest, March 2015

- AUCTION -

Cowan’s Auctions, Cincinnati, Ohio

U.S. History Auction

by Don Johnson

Photos courtesy Cowan’s Auctions

ne thing can be said of the

American history sale held by

Cowan’s Auctions in Cincin-

nati, Ohio, on November 21, 2014—

it was relatively flat. It wasn’t that

prices were off. Rather, there was

an abundance of two-dimensional

material, more so than usual. Man-

uscripts and photographs dominated

much of the catalog, while three-di-

mensional items seemed almost an

afterthought.

That wasn’t a bad thing. About 300

items sold for $832,851 (includes

buyers’ premiums), according to

Katie Horstman, Cowan’s director

of American history.

One lot accounted for more than

a sixth of that total.

Gardner’s Pho-

tographic Sketch Book of the War

a two-volume set having 100 albu-

men photographs of the Civil War,

described as the first modern photo

essay, sold for $144,000. Contempo-

rary reprints of this book are read-

ily available, but first editions are

scarce. It is estimated that no more

than 200 copies were originally

produced.

“They don’t pop up very often,”

said Horstman.

Published by Philp & Solomons

of Washington, D.C., 1865-66, the

work featured photographs by Alex-

ander Gardner (1821-1882) and oth-

ers. Each image is 6¾" x 8¾" and

mounted on larger sheets with pre-

printed mounting blocks and printed

captions. The text and photographs

were designed to work together. Get-

tysburg was the main theme, but the

material covered the war in Virginia,

Maryland, and Pennsylvania.Among

the key photographs were

A Har-

vest of Death

Field Where General

Reynolds Fell

Home of the Rebel

Sharpshooter,

and

Sharpshooter’s

Last Sleep

. When such images were

exhibited in New York shortly after

the Battle of Gettysburg, the public’s

perception of the conflict began to

change, as scenes of the carnage of

battle shattered a romanticized view

of the war.

“We were so excited to be able to

sell the Gardner sketchbook of the

Civil War,” said Horstman. “Overall,

really, the bidding, there were some

soft spots, but it was very enthusias-

tic throughout the sale,” she added.

Manuscripts included a Revolu-

tionaryWar naval document that sold

for $51,600. “It’s such an important

and rare piece,” noted Horstman. “It

was a wonderful surprise and the

first lot.”

The handwritten two-page docu-

ment was the official record of a May

1776 Navy court martial held aboard

the

Alfred

at Providence, Rhode

Island, per the request of Captain

Abraham Whipple of the

Colum-

bus

, who sought to clear his name.

The document (complete with mis-

spellings) noted, “AbrahamWhipple

Esq aforesaid Appeared before this

Court and says his Character Stands

Aspersed for Cowardice on board

the Columbus the 7th of April last

in an Engagement with the Glasgow

Ship of Warr. Therefore desires to be

heard touching the same—.”

In the end, Whipple was vin-

dicated, albeit not without some

shame. The verdict read, “This Court

having heard Sundry Evidences who

were Present in Different Vessels

during the Engagement with the

Glasgow Respecting the Matter now

before us ~ Are of Oppinion that

said Whipple’s Conduct on said 7th

of April was agreeable to what he

hath sett forth in the foregoing Dec-

laration and that his mode of Attack

on the Glasgow in our Oppinion has

proceeded from Error of Judgment

and not from Cowardice.”

The document itself was signifi-

cant, being from the Revolutionary

War and the Continental Navy. Add-

ing to the appeal were the signatures

of the 12-man panel, which included

John Paul Jones, first lieutenant on

the

Alfred

and second in command

during the engagement with the

Glasgow

An abundance of archives included

that of Colonel Orland Smith of the

73rd Ohio Infantry. A brigade com-

mander in both the eastern and west-

ern theaters, he led troops at Gettys-

burg and Chattanooga. Selling for

$18,000, the lot consisted of five

war diaries, a sword (the scabbard

dented by a Minié ball that killed

Smith’s horse), a hand-colored albu-

men photograph of Smith as a colo-

nel, and a hand-painted escutcheon

on canvas detailing Smith’s wartime

service.

Also bringing a healthy response

from bidders was the manuscript

archive of Union surgeon Henry

Janes (1832-1915), from his time

while serving at Camp Letterman.

Dating from August to December

1863, during Janes’s tenure as com-

mander of Army medical facilities at

Gettysburg, the 20 items gave insight

into the man in charge of saving as

many lives as possible in the largest

battlefield medical organization in

history, up to that time. The lot sold

for $14,400.

Overall, it was a decent day for

Civil War material, with some desir-

able offerings. Signed handwrit-

ten letters by key military leaders

included one by Thomas J. “Stone-

wall” Jackson (1824-1863) as a Con-

federate brigadier general, two pages

to Colonel Kenton Harper, written

from “Head Quarters 1st Brigade/

Camp near Centreville/ Aug. 29th,

1861,” offering to make good on a

promise to provide any needed funds

related to the acquisition of mus-

kets taken by the citizens of Harpers

Ferry when the arsenal was burned

by Union troops. It sold for $15,990.

A one-page letter by Confederate

cavalier J.E.B. Stuart (1833-1864) as

a lieutenant colonel to Colonel Ken-

ton Harper from “Head Qrs Camp

Clover/ 8 PM June 12th 1861” noted

the planned return of two companies

of the 5th Virginia and requested,

“If you can possibly lend me a Field

piece [cannon] and a few rounds I

promise to return it in 24 hours.” It

brought $14,400. A letter by Confed-

erate General Robert E. Lee (1807-

1870), one and a half pages, to his

old friend and former quartermaster

Major John A. Harman, written from

Lexington, Virginia, on October 31,

1865, asked for help in finding Lucy

Long, a mare used and admired by

Lee during the Civil War. That letter

realized $9840.

Among the more intriguing items

from the Civil War was a Confeder-

ate cipher disk that sold for $18,000.

Made of brass and 57 mm in diam-

eter, the disk was stamped “C.S.A./

S.S.” (Confederate States of Amer-

ica/ Secret Service) at the center,

while the reverse was marked for

Gardner’s Photographic Sketch Book of the War

, two volumes having a total of 100 albumen

photographs by Alexander Gardner (1821-1882) and others, first edition, scuffing to the cov-

ers, minor problems with the endpapers, light wear and foxing to the pages, $144,000.

“It’s such an

important and

rare piece.”

Revolutionary War naval docu-

ment, the official record of a May

1776 court martial in which Cap-

tain Abraham Whipple was acquit-

ted of cowardice, signed by John

Paul Jones and 11 other Continen-

tal Navy and Marine Corps officers,

thought to be the copy retained by

Esek Hopkins as the commander in

chief of the Navy, two pages, folds

and light toning, $51,600.

Major General A. Pleasanton

[sic]

and Personal Aids

[sic]

and General

G.A. Custer

by Alexander Gardner,

albumen photograph, 6¾" x 9",

plus mount with imprinted title,

credit to Timothy H. O’Sullivan for

the negative and Gardner for the

positive, from Gardner’s

Incidents

of the War

, taken October 9, 1863,

near Warrenton, Virginia, the print

in excellent condition, the mount

with foxing and bumped corners,

$7800.

War-date ALS (autograph letter signed)

by Confederate cavalier J.E.B. Stuart

(1833-1864) as a lieutenant colonel, one

page, to Colonel Kenton Harper, from

“Head Qrs Camp Clover/ 8 PM June 12th

1861,” noting the planned return of two

companies of the 5th Virginia and asking

to borrow a cannon, dark ink with minor

age spotting, $14,400.