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Estimate: $ 2,000 - $ 3,000
(SLAVERY AND ABOLITION.) [Berghaus, Albert?] Pair of drawings of the Virginia militia standing guard before John Brown's execution. "Night Guard before Starting: Reading the Roll." 7 x 11 inches. Vertical fold, minor wear * "Parade of 1st Regiment Virginia Volunteers in Front of Mr. Hunter's House." 11 x 14 1/4 inches, vertical fold with short separation, worn on top edge, red stain in lower right margin. Both drawings have a variety of the artist's small portraits and doodles on verso. [Charles Town, WV, November 1859]
These drawings were done by an unknown artist in the weeks before John Brown's 2 December 1859 execution in Charles Town, WV. The smaller of the two drawings was engraved for the 10 December issue of Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, with the caption "Meeting the Picket Guard--The Officer Reading the Roll and Giving his Directions Previous to the Guard Going on Duty for the Night." The drawing, unlike the engraving, identifies the soldiers to the left as "Richmond militia," in the center as "Continentals," and to the right as "Frederick milit." John Wilkes Booth, already a well-known actor, had joined the Richmond militia for the trip just to see Brown hang; perhaps one of these mustachioed soldiers to the left might represent Booth. The actual execution was covered in Leslie's 17 December issue, so this scene likely dates to the tense week before the hanging. The larger drawing shows a longer line of soldiers on parade in Charles Town, with musicians playing to the left and a substantial house in the background. In the foreground are a dog and hastily drawn spectators, while a small boy has apparently been erased. The artist offers a suggestion to the engraver: "Staff here on horseback instead of people." This drawing appears to have remained unpublished. On verso are 16 small pencil portrait sketches; some of them resemble Andrew Hunter, the Virginia prosecutor in the Brown case, whose portrait had also appeared in Leslie's the previous month. These drawings are unsigned, but closely resemble in style a well-known signed sketch by Albert Berghaus of Brown's execution which was used in Leslie's the following week, and is presently at the Smithsonian. Berghaus was one of the best-known illustrators of his time, but his original work rarely appears at auction; we are aware of no other examples.
![(SLAVERY AND ABOLITION.) [Berghaus, Albert?] Pair of drawings of the Virginia militia standing guard before John Browns execution.](https://catalogue.swanngalleries.com/full//989\685989.jpg)
![(SLAVERY AND ABOLITION.) [Berghaus, Albert?] Pair of drawings of the Virginia militia standing guard before John Browns execution.](https://catalogue.swanngalleries.com/full//989\685989_view 02_02.jpg)
![(SLAVERY AND ABOLITION.) [Berghaus, Albert?] Pair of drawings of the Virginia militia standing guard before John Browns execution.](/Content/images/image-placeholder.png)
![(SLAVERY AND ABOLITION.) [Berghaus, Albert?] Pair of drawings of the Virginia militia standing guard before John Browns execution.](https://catalogue.swanngalleries.com/thumb//\989\685989tn.jpg)
![(SLAVERY AND ABOLITION.) [Berghaus, Albert?] Pair of drawings of the Virginia militia standing guard before John Browns execution.](https://catalogue.swanngalleries.com/thumb//\989\685989_view 02_02tn.jpg)