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CDV Album of Civil War-Era Politicians, Generals

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Civil War CDV

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Exceptional CDV Presentation Album with a Remarkable Provenance
Lincoln, Civil War Generals, Politicians, and Rare Portraits of Canadian Leaders
Collected by the Lord Mayor of London!

CDV Album of Ninety Two Different, Civil War-Era Politicians, Generals, As Well As Canadian Dignitaries, Assembled by the Mayor of London, Choice Extremely Fine or better.
This custom Album of Carte-de-Vi site photographs contains 92 different images. Generally presented four to a leaf, most are void of any trimming, and are ink identified for each person, carefully written on the album page below image’s window. Housed in a 9" x 6" brown morocco custom album, brass-clasps intact, leaves are separated at spine as typically found, but fully intact, save for a few pages at the very end. This collection of Cartes was compiled by Sir Thomas Dakin, The Lord Mayor of London, in 1870, who made three visits to North America. The cover of the album is Gilt-titled: "Memorials of Visits to Canada & United States in May, 1864, May, 1868, and November, 1869."

Politicians represented include such luminaries as President (and Mrs.) Lincoln, Schuyler Colfax, William Seward, Salmon Chase, Edwin Stanton, Horatio Seymour, Horace Greeley, Vice President Henry Wilson, even the eccentric George Francis Train Ð America’s first foreign correspondent, his carte included above the appellation "a noisy agitator." Union military leaders include Ulysses S. Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman, Philip H. Sheridan, William Rosecrans, Irwin McDowell, David Farragut, John C. Fremont, George Meade, Winfield S. Hancock, and George B. McClellan. The Confederacy is also represented, by Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, Wade Hampton, Braxton Bragg, G. T. Beauregard, and Stonewall Jackson, among others. Cultural leaders are represented by such figures "Miss Anna Dickenson, Lecturer on Woman’s Rights," Henry Ward Beecher, Edward Everett, N. P. Willis, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Oliver Wendell Holmes. Several rare portraits of Canadian social, military and political leaders are also found in the album; ranging from Premier John A. MacDonald to the Bishop of Montreal.

The period titling below each portrait identifies the subject, his office ("George Opdike, Late Mayor of New York City"), and occasionally includes a telling remark: "Phineas T. Barnum, Celebrated Humbug" and "Clement C. Vallandigham, Copperhead Politician." A few photographs have light foxing, most remain quite bold and resonant with photographer’s imprints; only six or so that are engraved studies. The complete list of portraits is as follows: Abraham Lincoln, Mrs. President Lincoln, Hannibal Hamlin, Genl. John Charles Fremont, Genl. George B. McClellan, Schuyler Colfax, William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, Edwin M. Stanton, Charles Sumner, Horace Greeley, Wendell Phillips, Horatio Seymour, Edwin Morgan, William Bigler, H. Wilson, Thurlow Weed, Clement C. Vallandigham, George Opdike, Fernando Wood, Phineas Barnum, George Seabody, Genl. Ulysses S. Grant, Genl. William S. Rosecrans, Genl. Franz Sigel, Genl. Irvin McDowell, Adm. David Farragut, Capt. J. Maffitt, Mrs. Genl. Halleck, Miss Anna Dickenson, Jefferson Davis, Mrs. Jefferson Davis, Genl. Robert E. Lee, Genl. Beauregard, Genl. Longstreet, Genl. Stonewall Jackson, Lord Lyons, Charles Stanley, Sir William Fenwick Williams of Kars, Colonel Irvine, Louis Wallbridge, George Brown, George Cartier, Antoine Dorion, Alexander Galt, William McDougall, Isaac Buchanan, Oliver Mowat, Sir John A. Macdonald, John Sandfield Macdonald, Walter Shanley, Matthew Cameron, Malcom Cameron, Colonel Gugy, Dr. Francis Fulford, Dr. John Strachan, Dr. J. Travers Lewis, Dr. J. Helmuth, Dr. J. Bourget, George Francis Train, Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, Edward Everett, Howell Cobb, Genl. Braxton Bragg, Genl. George Meade, Genl. Winfield Hancock, Genl. Pemberton, Pendleton, Genl. Wade Hampton, Genl. Halleck, Genl. W. Sherman, Genl. S Sheridan, Andrew Johnson, Genl. Ullyses S. Grant (Unlabeled), Nathanie Parker Willis, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Unlabeled Photo (Possibly a young Mark Twain?), Judge Coursol, John Hillyard Cameron, W. Powell, Darcy McGhee, Joseph Howe, Sir Etienne P. Tache, Lord Mulgrave, George Moffatt, William Molson, John Rose, Chereau, William McMaster, A. Campbell, Unlabeled Photo (last photo in album).

This unique assemblage makes quite a special presentation. Each carte being studiously collected by a high dignitary who wanted to capture a photographic record of his acquaintances during his visits to the United States and Canada. An outstanding, rare opportunity, the individual images worth well in excess of our conservative estimate if offered individually. While CDV albums come onto the market from time to time, most are but "made up" collections Ð this magnificent collection is very different and special. It has an impeccable, intact and very personal pedigree!

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