Mathew Bradey Civil War Camera
George Smith
people to help photograph the War, did they all use the same type and size
of camera?
Any info would be much appreciated.
George
Donn Cave
| What camera did Mathew Bradey use in the Civil War? I have read he hired
| people to help photograph the War, did they all use the same type and size
| of camera?
You might find something of interest in a View Camera article,
January/February 1996, by Susan Williams about Andrew J. Russell.
His work in the Civil war was done under a Union military commission.
There's quite a bit of detail about the equipment, complete with
schematic drawings of a camera. Altogether that issue, which also
included an article about public works photography in the Depression,
is probably my favorite in my collection. Favorite cover photo too,
though it probably wouldn't be if I'd ever had a tooth extracted in
that way.
Donn
Richard Knoppow
>What camera did Mathew Bradey use in the Civil War? I have read he hired
>people to help photograph the War, did they all use the same type and size
>of camera?
>
>Any info would be much appreciated.
>
>George
>
There is a fair amount of historical material available about Brady.
What he did was to organize what was probably the first documentary
department in history. He hired a number of skilled photographers and
they along with himself photographed the war. Brady never claimed to
have made all the photographs himself. He was stiffed after the war
by the Army, who refused to pay for the work or display it.
I don't know what kind of cameras were used. All the photos were
taken on wet plates, which require the photogapher to coat the plates
just before use and develop then immediately after exposure. It meant
carrying a complete darkroom with you at all times.
Brady was associated with E&H.T.Anthony, a pioneer supplier of
photogaphic materials, which later became part of the Ansco Company.
Its likely that at least some of the cameras were those supplied by
Anthony.
There is just too much historical material to post references here.
A trip to the local library will find quite a bit.
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, Ca.
dick...@ix.netcom.com
Peter Mikalajunas
>What camera did Mathew Bradey use in the Civil War? I have read he hired
>people to help photograph the War, did they all use the same type and size
>of camera?
>
>Any info would be much appreciated.
>
>George
All of Brady's surviving images were sold to the library of Congress. They
have them on-line. Some include pictures of Brady, his wagons and photographers
with their equipment. Needless to say, Brady used the very latest wet-plate
equipment of the day.
The Library of Congress Civil War Collection is at:
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cwphome.html
He outfitted all the wagons and set them off to follow the troops. The actual
photographers were referred to as "operators" as was the common studio practice
of the day. Each wagon was made up to his specifications, carrying a complete
darkroom with assistants and an operator.
He claimed, later in life, that photographing the civil war was the worst
financial investment he ever made.
Brian Ellis
remember the author's name. However, while the book is a novel the historical
information relating to John Wiles Booth and events surrounding the Lincoln
assassination appear to be accurate. I mention it here because the principal
fictional character in the novel works as an assistant to Alexander Gardner,
another well known photographer of Brady's vintage. There is a lot of dialogue
and fascinating information about photographic equipment and practices of the
day, all of which appears to me to be based on actual fact (for example,
there's a great discussion of making a photographic portrait told from the
painful viewpoint of the subject). I don't recall whether there is any
discussion of the cameras used, although there is a lot of information about
darkroom equipment and methods. I have no idea what the background of the
author might be but he obviously is something of a photographic history buff.
Apart from all the photography stuff, the novel itself is pretty good if you
have any interest in John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln assassination.
As an aside, I was under the impression that Matthew Brady actually took
none of the "Matthew Brady" civil war photographs. I thought that all (not
just some) of those photographs were made by photographers who worked for him
(just as Bryn Alan doesn't, as far as I know, make any of the portraits that
come from the various Bryn Alan studios). .