I am delighted to introduce the Spring 2023 issue.
Our cover story, a survey of portraits of soldiers posed with placards labeled “Jeff. Davis and the South!” or “Victory or Death!” Is the first such look at these unique images since 1991. The origins of the survey began with a single new discovery out of an Atlanta storage unit and ended as a full-blown examination by Executive Editor Rick Brown and me.
On the topic of new discoveries, you’ll want to see this cache of cartes de visite from the 1864 Baltimore Sanitary Fair notable for a visit by President Abraham Lincoln. Also check out this unpublished view of the 3rd Vermont Infantry band from 1861 in our Stragglers section.
If you are looking for more Confederate images, Phil McCoy’s collection features groupings of officers, wounded men, tinted images, and guerrillas. They include Nathan Bedford Forrest, George E. Pickett, and “One-Armed Berry” and “Sue Mundy.”
Other features of note include Mark Savolis’ images of Medal of Honor recipient Tom Plunkett, “The Armless Hero of Fredericksburg,” and the story of Eneas Munson, a Revolutionary War veteran who lived into the age of photography. You’ll see his likeness, taken as a daguerreotype in 1842, courtesy of Joe Bauman.
Notable columns in the issue include Kurt Luther’s photo sleuthing to identify a portrait with a connection to William Henry Jackson, who gained fame from his 1871 photographs of Yellowstone during the Hayden Expedition. Elizabeth Topping profiles Adah Isaacs Menken, America’s first sex symbol. Adam Fleischer looks at the Harp Backdrop of Camp Graham, which is connected to the 23rd Pennsylvania Infantry. And don’t miss our review of “Emancipation,” the Apple TV film starring Will Smith.
Enjoy all this and more!
Ronald S. Coddington
Editor & Publisher
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