Civil War stationery collection
Title
Civil War stationery collection
Description
Collection of stationery containing patriotic designs often used on patriotic envelopes, with a majority including a title, slogan, and/or verse. Designs predominately include views of regiment camps; images of soldiers, including battle and camp life scenes; patriotic symbols including flags, eagles, bells, shields, stars and the figure of liberty; portraiture of historic and military figures; and basic designs including stripes, colored edges, and lined borders. Unique designs with assigned LCP numbers include an untitled regiment view showing the soldiers playing baseball, possibly at Abner Doubleday's camp (RE-LCP 35); a view of Poughkeepsie from 1854 (SC-NW-LCP-3); the New York funeral procession for Abraham Lincoln on April 25, 1865 (SC-NW-LCP-4); two designs published by J.W. Barber of New Haven showing bars of music from "My Country Tis of Thee" (O-M-LCP-8) and an allegorical scene of Liberty fighting treason, rebellion, tyranny, and oppression (F-P-LCP-1). Collection also contains a series of seven Charles Magnus hand-colored designs containing birds-eye views and military maps. Views show Fortress Monroe, Old Point Comfort and Hygeia Hotel, Va. and the Capitol. Military maps shows Maryland and Virginia; Virginia between Washington and Manassas Junction; Richmond and Alexandria; Fortress Monroe and Richmond; and the southern coast between Fortress Monroe and New Orleans. Collection also includes a small number of Confederate stationery. Confederates designs include a view of enslaved African American people driving a wagon of supplies to a battlefield and a satire of Abraham Lincoln as an Native American chief. Portraits include George Washington, George McClellan, and Elmer Ellsworth. Three uncut printed proof sheets of patriotic stationery used as ream wrappers and the first style of U.S. postcard (circa 1872) also included as part of the collection., Some copyrighted., Some contain manuscript notes., Various publishers including Philadelphia publishers James Magee and L. N. Rosenthal as well as New York publisher Charles Magnus., Title supplied by cataloger., See William R. Weiss, Jr.'s The catalog of Union Civil War patriotic covers (Bethleham, Pa.: William R. Weiss, 1995). LCP copy annotated to show collection holdings., See the George Walcott collection of used Civil War patriotic covers (New York: Robert Laurence, 1934)., Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of materials related to the Civil War. McAlliser Collection, gift, 1886., Reproduced in Erika Piola, "For the millions: Civil War stationery for women and children in the McAllister Collection at The Library Company of Philadelphia," The Ephemera journal 13 (2010), [32]., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
1861-1865
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Civil War Stationery [various], Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *GC - Civil War - Ream Wrappers [P.2006.1.30a-c]