Dimensions
264 x 282 x 25mm
What Edward S. Curtis did for the American West, Mathew Brady did for the Civil War, and a half century earlier. His more traditional photographic pursuits had already made him famous by 1850; in his lifetime he captured nineteen U.S. presidents on film. But when the Civil War began, Brady changed direction, left his studio, and joined the rough-and-ready camps of soldiers, recording the entire event with the help of several assistants. He went bankrupt in the process and died alone and destitute in 1896. But, thanks to Brady, we have thousands of images of mid-nineteenth-century camp life, military drills, and moments just before and after battles. "Brady's Civil War" presents a select collection of several hundred of these images, highlighting their immense creativity and informative value for military enthusiasts as well as readers interested in the art of photography. The text, by Webb Garrison, is in the form of incisive and explanatory captions, describing how the camera was taken to the battlefield to create the world's first comprehensive photodocumentation of war. This edition has been re-edited and has a new introduction by historian Alan Axelrod.
