Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Nicholson (John Page) Collection: Collection of Civil War photographs including war casualties
photCL 307
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library Photo Archives
Title: Collection of Civil War photographs including war casualties
Identifier/Call Number: photCL 307
Physical Description:
1 Volume
(63 photographs)
Date (inclusive): approximately 1863-1865
Abstract: A group of 63 Civil War photographs,
including views of war dead at Gettysburg, officers and soldiers at camp, battlefields, and
others, approximately 1863-1865.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from
or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The
responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining
necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
photCL 307, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Gertrude M. Nicholson, through the agency of Robert O. Schad, September
1922.
A collection of 63 Civil War photographs compiled by John P. Nicholson, Civil War veteran
and collector. The albumen photographs are mounted on boards that had been bound into an
album (now disbound). Most are undated and have little identification, though some have
faded pencil writing on back. Many images depict battlefields, primarily in Gettysburg, such
as Little Round Top, Devil's Den, and others. Of particular note are photographs of war dead
on the battlefield by Mathew B. Brady and Timothy O'Sullivan (1863); and an image of a dead
young man, labeled a "rebel sharpshooter," by Alexander Gardner. Another image shows Brady
overlooking "The Wheat Field" at Gettysburg, July 1863, attributed to Egbert Guy Fowx. There
are several group portraits of soldiers and officers, often at camp, sitting or standing in
front of tents; one features officers with women, presumably their wives or family members.
Those identified include General Francis Preston Blair Jr. and staff; soldiers of the 8th
New York State Militia at camp; 1st U.S. Cavalry at Brandy Station, Virginia; musical band
of the 114th Pennsylvania Infantry (Zouaves); and artillery of the Army of the Cumberland
near Chattanooga, Tennessee. Other subjects are: General George G. Meade's headquarters; men
building fortifications; a government coal wharf and the Orange and Alexandria Railroad
roundhouse in Alexandria, Virginia; a bird's-eye-view of Washington, D.C. with the Capitol
and Smithsonian Institute Building "The Castle"; and a panoramic image of "the field over
which Pickett charged" by photographer William Bell. A few images include Black men in
civilian clothing. The album is disbound, and three photographs have been matted and housed
in Box 2.
Processed by Huntington Library staff, mid-20th century. In 2021, Suzanne Oatey created a
finding aid.
Title supplied by cataloger. Binder's title on spine: "War Photographs."
Former call number: 56387.
This album was received as part of the Nicholson collection of papers, manuscripts and
books related to the Civil War.
John Page Nicholson papers and Civil War collection, mssNI 1-990. Additional volumes of
photographs from the Nicholson collection: photCL 302, photCL 303, photCL 304, photCL 305,
photCL 306, photCL 308, photCL 309.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Gettysburg, Battle of, Gettysburg, Pa.,
1863
Soldiers -- United States -- Civil War, 1861-1865
United States -- History -- Civil War,
1861-1865
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- African Americans
-- Sources
United States -- History -- Civil War,
1861-1865 -- Battlefields
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 --
Casualties
Virginia -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Campaigns
Photographs
Photograph albums
Bell, William,
1830-1910
Brady, Mathew B., approximately
1823-1896
Gardner, Alexander, 1821-1882
O'Sullivan, Timothy H., 1840-1882
Nicholson, John P. (John Page),
1842-
Blair, Frank P., Jr. (Francis Preston),
1821-1875
Meade, George Gordon, 1815-1872
United States Capitol (Washington,
D.C.)