Eclectic and artifact-rich Civil War scrapbook assembled during the period by an unknown amateur artist. We have rarely encountered a more diverse scrapbook; this volume incudes dozens of pages of seemingly random (and in certain cases quite valuable) ephemera.

Examples include albumen photographs, Union and Confederate postal covers (including an 1863 envelope addressed to a prominent Gettysburg lawyer, and a highly desirable Confederate 1st National Flag envelope), an 1864 McClellan campaign photographic ribbon, several original handwritten letters from soldiers (including a wild letter written on Eutaw House stationary ordering the apprehension and arrest of a rogue Confederate who stole a boat on the Eastern Shore of Maryland), and even a scarce and original Currier and Ives engraving entitled "Death of President Lincoln." Cigar labels, advertisements, newspaper clippings, apothecary jar labels, invitations, and other ephemera too numerous to count round out the pages. 

More research may unveil the identity of the author. It does appear that they lived on the East Coast, as most of the material seems related in some way to the Maryland area. This album is both a highly enjoyable read as well as a fine artifact of the Civil War. 

A true piece of folk art, this scrapbook captures the reader with a wide variety of Civil War-era material. Unfortunately, its maker is unknown. 

[Art, Folk Art, Military Art, Etching, Engraving, Lithographs, Prints, Ephemera] [Photography, Early Photography, Historic Photography, Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes, Tintypes, Cased Images, Union Cases, Albumen Photographs, CDVs, Carte de Visites, Cartes de Visite, Carte-de-visite, Cartes-de-visite, CDV, Cabinet Cards, Stereoviews, Stereocards] [Abraham Lincoln, Politics, Mary Todd Lincoln, 1860 Election, Election of 1860, 1864 Election, Election of 1864,  Lincoln Assassination, John Wilkes Booth] [Ephemera, Pamphlets, Books, Booklets]