Oct 02, 2012 - Sale 2287

Sale 2287 - Lot 171

Price Realized: $ 660
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 400 - $ 600
(CIVIL WAR--CONFEDERATE.) [Volck, Adalbert J.] Confederate War Etchings. 29 lithographs, various sizes, on thin stock mounted on heavier 13 1/2 x 10 3/4 inch mounts as issued, with printed contents leaf; minor repairs and edge wear to the contents sheet and the first and final prints. In a contemporary cloth-backed plain portfolio, moderate wear; and a modern cloth folding case. [Np, circa 1892]
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Additional Details

Adalbert J. Volck (1828-1912) was a German-American dentist in Baltimore with strong sympathies to the Confederate cause. In about 1863, he published a set of 30 anti-Union etchings under the pseudonym Blada. Distribution was likely limited to other sympathizers in the north, and few copies have survived--not surprising, considering the inflammatory content. His work became more widely known when reissued in the 1880s.
Volck's work includes sharply satirical depictions of Lincoln and the abolitionist cause, alternating with sentimental depictions of the heroic Confederate troops and their families. Several images depict the clashes in Baltimore. Neely's Confederate Image, page 53, states that a lithograph edition in a slightly smaller format than the originals was issued circa 1892, which seems to match the present set.