Isaac Walton Taber (ca. 1857–1933), after J.F. Coonley (1832–1915)
View of Part of the Union Lines at Nashville
Pen and ink on paper
[1887–1888]
Visible 8 × 7 ½ in.; mounted and framed to 14 ¼ × 13 ¼ in.
Verso with two identifying stickers, including one from Christie’s East; modern pencil notation referencing its appearance in Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Volume IV, verso upper left.

A finely executed battlefield sketch demonstrating Isaac Walton Taber’s mastery of line and perspective. Based on a photograph by J.F. Coonley, the drawing records the Union defenses at Nashville in December 1864. The original photograph, taken on 16 December, captured the position just before General John Bell Hood’s final, unsuccessful attempt to break the Federal lines (cf. Library of Congress, LC-B811-2639 [P&P] LOT 4169). Though often attributed to George Barnard, the image was in fact the work of his collaborator Coonley.

Isaac Walton Taber was a prolific illustrator, active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He produced more than 250 illustrations for the landmark series Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, with this drawing published in Volume IV, p. 460.

J.F. Coonley (1832–1915) trained in daguerreotype photography under Barnard, with whom he opened a studio in 1857. By 1861 the pair were working with Mathew Brady, producing numerous Civil War-related views. In 1864, Coonley contracted to photograph railroad construction in Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia, during which time he also captured this important view of the Nashville lines.

Note: This lot cannot be packaged and shipped in-house. Successful bidders winning items marked as being packaged and shipped by a third-party service are responsible for paying the third party directly. We are happy to offer complimentary drop-off service to local third-party packing/shipping companies in Columbus, Ohio. 

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