REED, Charles Wellington.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Sketchbook containing 35 original sketches. A small sketchbook of lively and apparently unpublished pencil drawings by Charles Wellington Reed, American illustrator, Civil War veteran, and Medal of Honor recipient. Several drawings are signed.Reed (1841-1926) served with the 9th Massachusetts Light Artillery and received the Medal of Honor for rescuing his wounded captain at Gettysburg. After the war he pursued a career as an artist and illustrator; his drawings were used in Hardtack and Coffee and the Battles and Leaders of the Civil War series.One drawing depicts "Camp Stevenson Newbern N.C.," showing the Union post with barracks, tents, and picket guards. The remaining sketches range well beyond Reed's familiar Civil War subjects, including children dancing at a formal gathering, portraits of adults and children, a Native American hunter on horseback, a rural scene, and a bar-room brawl. Several military drawings appear to show French or Foreign-Legion-type troops in action against North African or Middle Eastern opponents.Original Reed drawings are uncommon on the market. His principal archive was given to the Library of Congress in 1928, two years after his death.The sketchbook is housed in a slipcase, the spine lettered "J. F. McL from R. B. K. McL" and dated 4 November 1943. These initials presumably identify the art historian Richard B. K. McLanathan (1916-1998), presenting the sketchbook to Jane Fuller McLanathan (1912-2004), the knitwear designer whom he had married

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