Existing comment:
Alexander Gardner: Pioneer Chronicler of War:
Born in Paisley, Scotland in 1821, Gardner was the editor of the Glasgow Sentinel when he started experimenting with wet-plate photography. He emigrated to the United States by 1856 and began working for Mathew Brady at his New York City studio in that year. He became manager of Brady's Washington gallery in 1858 and specialized in full-length color tinted portraits.
After Brady observed the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861, but failed to capture any photographs, he continued to dispatch his photographers to follow the war, [sic] Brady sent photographers with the Union Army of the Potomac for the spring 1862 Peninsula Campaign. Gardner himself joined McClellan's army as it pursued Lee into Maryland. Before the Battle of Antietam, Alexander Gardner had secured an honorary Captain's command with the Signal Corps, which may have improved his access to the battlefield.
Gardner and his assistants primarily used stereoscopic cameras during the Civil War. These large, cumbersome cameras had two lenses that captured images on two negatives. When the side-by-side photographs produced from these cameras were seen with a handheld viewer, they appeared in 3-D. All of the "Dead at Antietam" photos were taken in this format.
Sometime after taking the Antietam photographers, Gardner ended his emplyment [sic] with Mathew Brady and by early 1863 had his own photo gallery in Washington DC. Gardner retained all of the Antietam negatives after the split with Brady.
Gardner's Gallery at the corner of 7th and D streets, just down the block from Clara Barton's Missing Soldiers Office.
Besides taking photos while with Union armies, Gardner's vision included other important photographs. His photographs of Lincoln and Seward assassination conspirators were powerful portraits.
These included portraits of Abraham Lincoln, such as this one from February 1865.
Thomas Paine, would be assassin of Secretary of State Seward.
Gardner's series of rapid fire photographs of the conspirators hanging at the Washington Arsenal (now Ft. Leslie McNair) were an early example of event photojournalism.
Taking the Photos:
Gardner and his assistant, James Gibson, arrived at the Antietam Battlefield on the afternoon of September 19th, two days after the battle, and began photographing at Bloody Lane that afternoon. They returned the next morning, resuming their photographic work near the Dunker Church. By the morning of Sept. 21st they had taken "forty-five negatives of battle" and Gardner had sent a telegram to the Washington gallery, urgently requesting more glass plates.
The photographer or assistant would stand at the back of the wagon and stick his head and upper body into a little darkroom area. He used a tarp hanging from the rear of the wagon to shut out the light.
The photographers were equipped with at least one horse drawn portable darkroom. This technological advancement allowed them to sensitize, develop and fix wet negative plates in the field. Gardner's darkroom wagon shows up in at least two Antietam images.
He continued photographing for several more days and returned with President Lincoln on Oct. 3-4 to capture the President's historic visit to the battlefield.
Gardner appears to have made at least one more trip to the area later in October 1862. In all, he took 120 known images during the Maryland campaign -- 85 stereographs and 35 large plate images -- with more than 100 taken on or near the battlefield itself.
Gardner ended up being the most prolific documentary photographer of the Civil War, ultimately producing more than 1,200 stereo negatives and almost 950 large plate (7x9 inch) photographs in the field.
After the war, Alexander published Gardner's Photographic Sketch Book of the War a two-volume set of 100 original albumen photographic prints that was one of the most elaborate books ever made up to that time. It sold by subscription only and was limited to 200 copies and was a financial success. He then went west and photographed the construction of the transcontinental railroad. He returned to Washington DC where he died in 1882. He is buried in Glenwood Cemetery in Washington DC with his family.
"It is designed to speak for itself. As mementos of the fearful struggle through which the country has just passed, it is confidently hoped that it will possess an enduring interest."
-- Alexander Gardner on his Photographic Sketch Book of the Civil War |