FORBES, Edwin.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Life Studies of the Great Army. Scarce first edition of one of the finest graphic representations of the American Civil War; this copy with the bookplate of Union army veteran William Bush Blackwell (1837-1922), first lieutenant and quarter master with the 26th Regiment New York Volunteer Infantry (the "2nd Oneida Regiment"), later a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. This superb memorial of the war often captures vividly the boredom and weariness of the ordinary soldier's experience on campaign. Forbes's work is synonymous with the Civil War and he took great pains in the production of these fine etchings that manage to capture the élan and immediacy of his famous sketches in the field. On the letterpress index he describes himself as "(late) special artist with the armies of the Union, and member of the French Etching Club", whose first exhibition was held in New York immediately after the war in 1866. Aside from its intrinsic interest Forbes's work was also riding the rising tide of interest in etching that is known as the American Etching Revival. "Edwin Forbes (1839-1895) was an American landscape painter and etcher best known for his sketches of military life during the American Civil War (1861-1865). As a staff artist for Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, Forbes travelled with various contingents of the Union Army and was particularly interested in common soldiers' daily lives as well as more traditional subjects like generals an

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