By Elizabeth A. Topping
According to an inscription on the back of this carte de visite, these girls participated in the Army Relief Bazaar held at Albany, N.Y. The hugely successful fundraiser held for three weeks in February and March 1864 raised money to support U.S. soldiers in the field. The Bazaar, held in a large building divided into booths representing regional, national and international destinations, was one of many fairs across the country under the auspices of the U.S. Sanitary Commission.
The volunteers sold various goods to raise money, including photographs like the example pictured here. The February 27 edition of the Bazaar’s magazine, The Canteen, noted: “An excellent photograph of the ladies of the Oriental Booth, in costume …is for sale … Similar photographs of the ladies of the other booths are to be taken.” Not to be outdone, the ladies of the Scottish booth …” have had their pictures taken in groups, copies are for sale at the counter.”
Several issues of The Canteen featured an advertisement by photographers Jordan H. and Jacob L. Abbott that fueled the friendly competition among booths: “J.H and J.L Abbott, Propose to Donate One Thousand Card Photographs for the benefit of the Sanitary Bazaar, the pictures to be made of any persons, either single or in groups, belonging to the different Booths, in their Costumes. Come one, come all, free of expense, as early as possible.”
The inscription includes the names of the girls: Ellie Paige and Grace Hilton. The Canteen reported on March 2 that Grace was one of many young ladies who assisted the gentlemen on the Greens Committee in making the wreaths adorning the Bazaar. On March 4, the newspaper reported that Grace served as an attendant in the French Booth. That same day, Ellie, along with her mother and sister, represented the Schenectady Booth.
The Bazaar opened Feb 22, 1864, with concerts and tableaus. On March 11, a lottery for the first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln written in his hand drew much attention. The Bazaar culminated on March 17 with a Grand Ball. The Bazaar raised $83K ($1.6M today) for the benefit of sick and wounded soldiers.
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