Image: Tehrkot Media
During the time of the Civil War, photography was in its toddlerhood. The age of the daguerreotype and tin type was mostly past, and glass plates were now being developed (no pun intended). People were starting to use photography for more than portraits, documenting things for posterity. Since the Civil War was possibly the first major event in the United States after the invention of photography, it was the perfect time to capture important images.
Mathew Brady was probably the most well-known of the Civil War era photographers, taking pictures of the bloody reality of the war. But Brady wasn’t the only photographer of his time. Alexander Gardner was another photographer who took pictures during the Civil War. Originally published in 1866, his work was gathered into a photographic volume and sold for the price of $150, a huge sum at the time. Fortunately, photography is much cheaper these days, and some of Gardner’s work is now showcased in a new app.
Image: Tehrkot Media
Gardner’s Photographic Sketch Book of the War is an app where you page through an antique photo album of 100 photos selected from Gardner’s 3000 original works. The table of contents is divided into the following sections: Cover, Introduction, Vol 1, Vol 2, Extras, Biographies, Postscript, and Credits. The bulk of the book is located in the two volume sections, but the extras are taken from the original album as well and include biographies of Alexander Gardner, Mathew Brady, and Alfred Waud; photographic mysteries; information on what it was like to take photos during the war; and the original introduction. In addition, each individual photo includes a caption listing who made the negative and the positive, along with a short description of what you are seeing. Also, tapping the word “caption” shows you a longer caption for each photo, describing the circumstance for the photo in detail.
Image: Tehrkot Media
The app is put out by Tehrkot Media, which is a historic photographic records company. They included functionality such as being able to set bookmarks, zoom in on the photos, add your own captions, or share over email. You can also buy a print of any of the photos.
Gardner’s Photographic Sketch Book of the War costs $4.99, and I recommend it to anyone interested in 1800s photography or the Civil War.
Note: I received a copy of the app for review purposes.
