Mt. Olivet Church and Claremont, Plus Confederate

Mt. Olivet Church and Claremont, Plus Confederate Battle Flag, Pen and Ink Sketches by Edwin J. Meeker

Lot of 2. Pen and ink on paper laid down on board, approx. 13.25 x 11.75 in. (sight), framed to 20 x 18.5 in. Composite drawing after wartime sketches of Fairfax Court House, VA by Robert K. Sneden (1832-1918), September 1861. Each with inscribed title and various notations: "A9215 Mt. Olivet Church / Mount Olivet Church / Old Fairfax Road, Va. / Picket Post of 40th N.Y. Sept 1861 / 'Claremont' Residence of Comm. Forrest, Rebel Navy. / Picket Post of 40th N.Y. Sept 1861." Also with paper label at upper left ("2373") and stamp at center ("2573"). Published in the Catalogue Appendix of The American Heritage Century Collection of Civil War Art.

Pen and ink on paper, 6.375 x 9.675 in. (sight), framed to 14 x 15.25 in. Inscribed with alphanumeric characters at upper left: "A8374." Drawn from the flag sewn by Constance Cary (1843-1920) in 1861 for General Earl Van Dorn (1820-1863) while he was a division commander in the Army of Northern Virginia, with "Constance" visible at lower right. Published in the Catalogue Appendix of The American Heritage Century Collection of Civil War Art.

Edwin J. Meeker (1853-1929) was an artist and illustrator, producing work for newspaper and magazine stories published in Harper's Weekly, the New York Times, and Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspapers, among others. He also created illustrations for books and postcards. Meeker resided in New Jersey for most of his life, maintaining studios in Newark and New York City.

The Century Collection of Civil War Art

Lots 200-212

While the photographic process evolved rapidly from its inception in 1839 and the wet plate process of taking photographs was coming into widespread use by the start of the Civil War, it was a cumbersome process in the field as well as the studio. More significantly, at that time the photographs themselves could not be reproduced as illustrations accompanying written reports of the war.

As a result, publishers of newspapers and other periodicals in major cities, primarily in the North, employed a number of sketch artists who traveled with armies to draw the scenes that they witnessed. These sketches, most frequently pencil on paper with brief identifications of people and places, were then sent back by courier to the periodical publishers. The battlefield sketches received by the publishers were then copied by engraving artists onto wooden blocks, which were used in printing presses to illustrate printed articles covering the war.

Unlike the photographers of the day, who were limited to capturing the aftermath of battles, the sketch artists had the advantage of recording what they were witnessing as the events occurred before their eyes.

In the 1880s, the popular Century Magazine started publishing the narratives of Civil War veterans and retained a large number of sketch artists to illustrate the articles. They used interviews, photographs, and prior war-date sketches to produce accurate pictorial representations of the war. These illustrated accounts were incorporated into a large four-volume work entitled Battles and Leaders of the Civil War in 1881. Almost a century later, in 1973, American Heritage Magazine acquired the collection of drawings that had been held by Century Magazine, which were subsequently reproduced in The American Heritage Century Collection of Civil War Art published in 1974. Christie's conducted two public auctions in 1988, which were comprised of the remaining original Century Magazine Collection of Civil War artwork that was dispersed by American Heritage Magazine, and a number of drawings by noted battlefield artists were acquired by the consignor, with many being offered today.
Condition Report: Both with light surface soil and areas of staining, particularly apparent at edges and corners of Mount Olivet sketch. Not examined outside frames.