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Description
[transcribed text]
Comrades all remember how eagerly they made a rush for "the old well," when on a long and dusty march they came to a plantation with its cool "spring house," or its deep dark well. This view shows the familiar scene of filling the canteens; the well has been covered with canvas and a guard placed over it to prevent any waste of water, for a well, however deep and capacious, soon becomes dry when the army commence to draw water.
This series of pictures are original photographs taken during the war of the Rebellion. More than a quarter of a century has passed away since the sun painted these real scenes of that great war, and the "negatives" (made by the old "wet plate" process) have undergone chemical changes which renders it slow and difficult work to get "prints" from them. Of course no more "negatives" can be made, as the scenes represented by this series of war views have passed away forever. The great value of these pictures is apparent. Some "negatives" are entirely past printing from, and all of them are very slow printers.
A Word As To Prices
A gentleman living near Watkin's Glen, New York, wrote us that he thought 30 cents each, too high a price for the stereoscopic war views, as he could buy views of Watkin's Glen for $1.50 per dozen. We wrote him to this effect:
"If there was but one negative of Watkin's Glen in existence, and if Watkin's Glen itself were entirely wiped off the face of the earth, and if this one negative was old and 'dense' and very slow to 'print,' and if all the people of this country were as much interested in a view of Watkin's Glen as they are in seeing the real scenes of our great war, so faithfully reproduced, then, and only under such circumstances, should Watkin's Glen Pictures be compared to photographs taken 'at the front' during the days of 1861 and 1865."
The gentleman "acknowledged the corn," took the war views he wished for, paid the reasonable price asked for the, and was satisfied.
The above is the only answer we shall ever make to the question of price. We deem it necessary to say this much, as many person write and ask us for cheap war views; when we change the price of these war views, it will be to double it; they will never by any cheaper than now. They can be obtained only of the undersigned or our duly authorized agents.
If you wish for a catalogue of the war views, send a stamp and your address to Yours in F. C. and L., The War Photograph & Exhibition Company, No. 21 Linden Place, Hartford, Conn. A wide shot of soldiers (men) on horseback, sitting down, or standing in line waiting to fill their canteens with water from a well. According to the transcription on the back of the stereocard, stereoscopic war views from 1861-1865 retailed at 30 cents each. This stereocard is part of The War for the Union, Photographic War History Series: 1861-1865. Early in the war (1861-1862) the E. & H.T. (Edward and Henry T.) Anthony & Company issued several hundred "War Views," mostly camp scenes and solders on guard duties. The company worked closely with Mathew Brady, who proceeded to document a large series of war photography by employing photographers who worked in small teams. In 1862, E. & H.T. Anthony published the first large series of "Brady" views in both stereo and carte de visite formats, ultimately publishing about 2,000 Civil War views. About 900 of these were by the Brady corps (2275-2522; 3030-3630). [none]
Type
image
Format
Black & white photographic stereograph. Albumen print. image/jpeg
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