(MILITARY--CIVIL WAR--PHOTOGRAPHY.) GARDNER, ALEXANDER. What do I Want, John Henry?' No 27. Mounted albumen photograph, 6-3/4 x 9 inches, card mount 10 x 12 inches; with the original descriptive sheet; some foxing to the mount. (WGC)
A camp-scene posed by Alexander Gardner for his portfolio of images of the War. The caption identifies the locale as Warrenton, Va, November, 1862. 'When fatigued by long exercises in the saddle, over bottomless roads, or under the glowing Southern sun, John's master would propound the query 'What do I want John?' that affectionate creature would at once produce the demijohn of 'Commissary,' as the only appropriate prescription for the occasion that his untutored nature could suggest.'
