(CIVIL WAR WEST VIRGINIA) James R Dorrance Letter on Harper

Sale 2646 - Lot 151

Price Realized: $ 562

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 600 - $ 900

(CIVIL WAR--WEST VIRGINIA.) James R. Dorrance. Letter on Harper's Ferry letterhead, with manuscript key describing the sights. Autograph Letter Signed to sister. 4 pages, 10 x 7 3/4 inches, on one folding sheet of letterhead with an engraving titled "View of Harper's Ferry, together with the Maryland and Virginia Heights" engraved by J.D. Ehlers and sold by J.W. Bond & Co. of Baltimore; 1-inch repaired closed tear entering engraving. Maryland Heights, MD "near Harpers Ferry," 15 March 1863

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Additional Details

The letterhead features a detailed and otherwise unknown view of Harpers Ferry (none traced at auction or in OCLC). The letter was written by James Robert Dorrance (1844-1910) of Clear Spring, MD, a private in the 7th Maryland Infantry. The first half of the letter consists of a description of Harpers Ferry and its environs, all keyed to numbers he has written on the letterhead view. He notes that the downtown area "at this time presents a very dilapidated appearance," and that the railroad bridge "has been destroyed twice by the Rebels but has again been rebuilt, but is not quite finished."