Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the Civil War

by Alexander Gardner (Photographer)

Second only to Mathew Brady as the foremost early American photographer was Alexander Gardner. Gardner's photographs are among the greatest war pictures ever taken during the early days of the Civil War, and are also among the most prized records of American history.

In 1866, Alexander Gardner published a very ambitious two-volume work that contained prints of some 100 photographs which he had taken in the field. Gardner worked as the chief photographer of Mathew Brady (often referred to as the father of photojournalism). The one-time manager of Brady's Washington salon and his chief photographer in the field during the early days of the Civil War, Gardner’s list of photographs reads like a roster of great events and great Antietam Bridge under Travel, President Lincoln (and McClellan) at Antietam, Pinkerton and His Agents in the Field, Ruins of Richmond, Libby Prison, McLean's House Where Lee's Surrender Was Signed, Meade's Headquarters at Gettysburg, Battery D, Second U.S. Artillery in Action at Fredericksburg, the Slaughter Pen at Gettysburg, and many others. This publication is now among the rarest American books and is here for the first time republished inexpensively.

Indeed, Gardner — who later photographed the War independently — often managed the famous horse-drawn photographic laboratory and took many of the pictures that used to be attributed to Brady. He accompanied the Union troops on their marches, their camps and bivouacs, their battles, and on their many hasty retreats and routs during the early days of the War.

Gardner's photographs are among the greatest war pictures ever taken and are also among the most prized records of American history. Gardner was quite conscious of recording history and spared himself no pains or risk to achieve the finest results. His work indicates a technical mastery that now seems incredible when one bears in mind the vicissitudes of collodion applications in the field, wet plates, long exposures, long drying times, imperfect chemicals — plus enemy bullets around the photographer's ears. It has been said of these photography today . . . is far easier, but it is no better.
 

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Photography, Civil War, American History, Military Fiction, American Civil War

224 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1959

Reviews

[Jonathan Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this after looking at John Szarkowski's The Photographer's Eye, which talks about the creation and development of a distinct photographic aesthetic in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and uses several images of the American Civil War by Matthew Brady's studio as examples. There's only one image by Gardner in Szarkowski's book (and a detail at that), but it's difficult to obtain a cheap edition of Brady's Civil War images (many of which were taken by Gardner and his associates Timothy O'Sullivan and George Barnard anyway). In any case, many of the images in this collection also illustrate Szarkowski's argument very well. They are of parched or churned and ravaged landscapes, minor architecture, industrial or public buildings – often damaged or ruined –, fortifications and siege guns, earthworks, supply dumps and army encampments – all photographed due to their totemic qualities as the sites of significant events in the war, or the work of armies engaged in that conflict. But considered independently of those (in a sense) accidental associations, and solely as pictures with a literal content, they are often quite strikingly different from nineteenth-century painting, and look forward to the kind of landscape photographs made in the 1970s by the New Topographics movement. Certainly every view and landscape described here is – often catastrophically – man-altered.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Such a picture conveys a useful moral: It shows the blank horror and reality of war, in opposition to its pageantry. Here are the dreadful details! Let them aid in preventing such another calamity falling upon the nation.”

Excellent book of photographs of the war. Battlefields and military camps of course but also farms, homes, bridges, towns. It is understandable that this book was a commercial failure when first released, as it seems the majority of people were happy to spend no time reminiscing about the half decade at war. Glad to have this portrait of America in another time of great difficulty.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alexander Gardner, along with Matthew Brady, was one of the first and main photographers of the civil war. He came out with a book about his photographs in 1866. This is basically a reproduction of that book. There are 100 pictures, and Gardner gives a writeup about each of the pictures. Gardner's writeups shed vital insight to the historical record.

I'd recommend this as a companion to a civil war history book, like Battle Cry of Freedom, mainly for the pictures. It helps set the scenes for reading about that time.

[Igor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Objectively:
1) the original cover is much nicier than this blue one here. It was black with gold letters; and
2) The comments before the photos are really well placed when you think of the destruction and suffering caused by the war.

[Ethan · Rating 5 out of 5]

And incredible set of pictures, published directly after the close of America's worst tragedy to date. Highly recommended!

[Sandra Oldfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book because I wanted to get to see his pictures larger so I could see the detail better. I love comparing the sites with today using Google Earth.

[Lisa Burris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gardner's Photographic Sketch Book is a remarkable historic document of the Civil War. Though Matthew Brady is considered the superstar of Civil War photography, Gardner was the one who traveled, cumbersome 19th century photographic equipment in tow, to battlefields to document the action. It is for that reason that this photographic record is so significant.

I'll admit that the reading of the book was arduous, not simply because of the subject matter, which includes multiple photos of dead soldiers and skeletons, but also because of the density of the language used to explain the photos. Even so, the photography is astounding and strangely contemporary. Just because of my interest level, I've studied and read many Civil War books. Even so, I never had a clear understanding of what, exactly, a bivouac looked like or how encampments were constructed. The men who designed and constructed such things were engineering geniuses. Make a bridge out of scavenged logs? Sure. How about floating a bridge over boats? Of course. Gardner records all of these things, not to mention the devastation, both to human life and to dozens of towns near battlefields, that the war brought. If you are at all interested in Civil War history, this is a necessary read.

[Joel Manuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the earliest photo histories of the Civil War, published several years after it ended. While riddled with inaccuracies, it is still engrossing today. Even readers well-versed in the history of Civil War photography will find a surprise or two. Highly recommended.

[Emilie Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Authentic photographs made by Gardner during the Civil War. Includes battle fields, generals, soldiers, and the dead.

[Liz Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great (and hard) look at the Civil War through pictures. Good book for research.