13 large-format albumen/salt print photographs. Vicksburg and Corinth, Mississippi: O.D. Finch. Several bearing Finch's stamp. Most approx. 9 x 11 in. overall, image of dead Confederate soldiers mount approx. 8 x 10 in. Two prints unmounted.

A significant archive documenting the Union Army's siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi, and the preceding Battle of Corinth.

Little is known about photographer O.D. Finch’s life except that before the Civil War, he was in a photographic partnership with another artist named Robinson in Dayton, Ohio. Finch likely drifted into the deep south with the Union Army after spending the late 1850s at his partner's studio, but for such a talented operator his work is frustratingly scarce. Salt print photography had largely given way to the silver print technology that produced albumens and cartes de visite by the thousands during the War era; that many of these particular photographs were made with outdated materials suggests the wandering Finch simply used what was available to him in an area where supplies were made scarce by the Union blockade.

Perhaps the most iconic photograph in this lot is captioned, “View of the White House and Camp Vicksburg during the siege.” A remarkable image, it presents an almost shocking view of the complex of ramshackle underground cave structures Vicksburg residents hid in during the relentless Union bombardment, all within the shadow of a stately plantation manor. This home, known as the Shirley House, is located today within the boundaries of the Vicksburg National Military Park and is the only surviving structure of that period.

Another noteworthy photograph in the group depicts dead Confederate soldiers lying near Battery Robinette on the Corinth battlefield, killed during Gen. Earl Van Dorn's unsuccessful attempt to dislodge Union forces under Gen. Williiam Rosecrans. Previously attributed to an unknown photographer, it can now be credited to Finch. The somber scene captured in this image is reminiscent of photographs taken by Timothy O'Sullivan of the dead at Gettysburg and serves as a poignant reminder of the cost of war. Van Dorn's inability to break the Union hold on the city emboldened the Union Army to take Vicksburg, a southern crown jewel. Finch seems to have borne witness to the entire drama.

Other Finch views include Union siege cannons and ammunition; the Headquarters of the Signal Corps; a remarkable photograph of the Vicksburg Court House outside of which both enslaved people and soldiers mill about; a view of “Coonskin’s Tower,” constructed from discarded railroad ties by a coonskin cap-wearing Union officer as an observation post, several shots of soldiers in the field, and a copy portrait of Gen. James “Birdseye” McPherson. Several of these photographs feature a hand-stamped “O.D. Finch, Artist” notation.

Finch may have faded into obscurity, but this group of images breathes life into his memory. These photographs especially demonstrate his talent for grand landscape photography. Many of these photographs are virtually unknown and offer new perspectives about a military campaign that would portend modern warfare. That they may represent a portfolio of sorts, perhaps assembled by the artist himself, makes them worthy of the finest archives of historic American photography.

[Civil War, Union, Confederate, Historic Photography, Early Photography, Albumen, Salt Prints, CDV, Carte de Visite, Cabinet Card, Boudoir Card]