The Century Magazine August-October 1885 ILLUSTRATIONS ONLY Civil War

Description

1885 IMAGES ESPECIALLY OF INTEREST TO CIVIL WAR BUFFS…AND DOG LOVERS
PLEASE BE PATIENT!
THE MAIL IS VERY UNRELIABLE.
YOUR PACKAGE MIGHT ARRIVE IN A JIFF…OR A MONTH.
OK, I know this is going to be a strange auction.
Please read my explanation below.
Here are approximately 300 engraved illustrations from The Century Magazine issues from August to October of 1885.
THESE ARE THE ILLUSTRATIONS ONLY, NOT THE TEXT PAGES.
(Although since almost every page had an illustration, most of them are here.)
Copyright
I am not a copyright lawyer so I can only say what I think.
There were published in 1885 and the vast majority should not have any copyright restrictions whatsoever.
You should be able to do anything you wish with them.
However, there are several engravings from Brady photographs and some of the portraits (eg, Grant) are pretty commonly seen.
If someone has recently published
another
version and holds the copyright on THAT image, I don’t know if or how it affects one taken from an 1885 Century Magazine.
If you intend to publish those, you or your publisher should consult a copyright lawyer.
The Century Magazine was to the 19
th
Century something like LIFE Magazine was to the 20
th
Century.
Or maybe somewhere between LIFE and The Atlantic.
It featured travel stories on exotic places (mostly Europe), features on artists’ studios, poetry, and history.
The style was literate as was the audience.
Which I guess is stating the obvious.
Here in the 1880s they seem to have been obsessed with the Civil War because there’s LOTS of it here.
That makes sense because many readers would be Vets now in their middle age.
Indeed, I would guess that maybe a third or more of the images are from the Civil War, including battle maps, General portraits, and battle scenes.
Many of these images were originally done DURING THE CIVIL WAR ITSELF, even if they were re-rendered here.
Photography was invented in the 1830s so it was around by 1885 but they hadn’t figured out how to mass print photolithographs yet.
Or at least not for use in periodicals.
So almost all of these are engravings, many of them made from photographs, although there is at least one photograph reproduced using a “special process,” so they were clearly working on it.
I don’t know what media the engravings were made in (ie, wood or steel).
As I say, there were a ton of stories on Civil War battles and LOTS of portraits of Major-Generals. Features on George Eliot’s country, on Sussex, England, Sienna Italy, Colonial life in the US, the Alaskan gold rush, Native Americans, stories on prominent men and families I’ve never heard of.
There is a significant feature on the various breeds of domestic dogs.
It was the practice of The Century Magazine and others to offer bound versions of their issues, usually in 6-month increments.
I presume these were for reference libraries and the libraries of the well-to-do who wished to show their erudition.
These illustrations are from one of those.
Why do I have these?
I bought this bound copy years ago because it had a major feature on the New Orleans or “Cotton” Exposition.
That was where America was introduced to Mexican music.
Unfortunately, except for a picture of some of the Mexican band members strolling through the gardens, there really was no useful information.
The story turned out to be more like Ma and Pa Kettle Go to the Fair.
I’ve kept that band illustration and a couple other pictures, but the vast majority of the illustrations are here for sale.
As you may well guess, there is not a large market for bound copies of the 1885 The Century Magazine.
So I had to make a decision.
Try to sell it forever for pennies.
Just throw it away.
Libraries don’t take books any more.
Or disbind it and scan the images, something that’s virtually impossible in a 3” thick bound book.
I have NO idea if I’ll ever find a use for the picture of the gate of Siena, but if I do find a use, I’ll have it in an electronic folder, not on my shelf.
The scanning is done.
I was going to throw these into recycling, but instead I’m offering these to you at a very reasonable price.
I’m guessing these will be especially interesting to Civil War buffs…and these images are mostly copyright free!
Condition
This is printed on relatively high quality pulp paper.
Paper is supple with no foxing.
Images are clear and bright.
Some damage to some edges from disbinding process.
Please see pictures.
I will gladly combine shipping for multiple items.
IF YOU PURCHASE MULTIPLE ITEMS, PLEASE
DO NOT PAY
RIGHT AWAY.
PLEASE WAIT UNTIL I SEND YOU AN
INVOICE
THAT WILL REFLECT THE TOTAL WEIGHT AND CORRECT POSTAGE.
I’ve been conservative and accurate in my detailed descriptions of the item’s exact condition, including pictures, so you should know what you’re getting.
If you find that I’ve missed something, please contact me.
EBay has numerous tools for working out a solution.
Feel free to ask questions in advance.
These images are from my private collection.
I am not an antiques, musical instrument, or commercial book dealer who has
picked
items for resale.
Everything I’m selling was originally purchased for my own use—to play, read, or support my research for writing my books and guitar history columns in
Vintage Guitar Magazine
.
It’s just time to start letting go…and make my wife happy.
Consider this my contribution to “recycling.”
Please see my other auction items.
Thank you and happy bidding!