|
“Five of the
Rarest Lithographs of the Mexican War.”
—Ron Tyler
“In
1847, [G. and W. Endicott] brought out Capt. Daniel Powers Whiting's
Army Portfolio, which is notable for its high degree of
technical accomplishment and was described at the time as
‘exceedingly well lithographed, and printed in tints.’”
—Rick Stewart, Eyewitness to War
Daniel Powers Whiting. Army
Portfolio. By Capt. D.P. Whiting, 7th Inf'y, U.S.A. No. 1
(New York: G. & W. Endicott, 1847). Five tinted lithographed
plates after Whiting, by Chas. Fendrich, F. Swinton (2) and C.
Parson (2). Image size: 13 x 18 11/16" to neat line, plus
margins. Framed size: 23 1/2 x 28". Some extremely minor
spotting on print no. 4. Each print presented in an attractive
period-style frame. Overall, excellent condition (by sight) for this
rare set of Mexican War prints.
SOLD
Comprising:
[1] Bird's-eye view of the Camp of the Army, commanded by Genl.
Taylor. Near Corpus Christi, Texas, [from the North] Oct. 1845. By C. Parsons.
[2] Monterey, as seen from a house-top in
the main Plaza, [to the West] October, 1846... [No.1 of a Series] [after the capture of the city by U. S. Forces under Gen'l
Taylor]. By Chas. Fendrich.
[3] Heights of Monterey, From
the Saltillo road looking towards the City, [from the West,]
[Worth's Division moving into position under the guns of the enemy,
after the action of "St. Jeronimo," on the morning of
21st. Septr.1846]...[No.2]. By F. Swinton.
[4] Valley
towards Saltillo, From near the base of "Palace Hill," at
Monterey. [Looking to the S.West.]...[No.3.] [with the rear
guard and wagon train of the U. S. Army coming into the Castle after
its capitulation]. C. Parsons.
[5] Monterey, From
Independence Hill, in the rear of the Bishop's Palace. As it
appeared on 23rd September, 1846 [Looking East.]...[No. 4] [with
the village of Guadaloupe and Sierra Silla, or Saddle Mountain, in
the distance.] By F. Swinton.
This extremely scarce series of
Mexican War views is one of the three primary visual records of the
conflict and also a fine topographical series that accurately
records the area at a turning point in its history. Whiting intended
the series to continue beyond the single issue of five plates that
appeared. Sadly, however, the original drawings for the subsequent
parts were lost aboard a steamboat that sank in the Mississippi, and
the accident prevented any more than the present five lithographs
being published.
Daniel Powers Whiting was an
Army man whose career encompassed most of the significant military
events of the mid-nineteenth century. However, he is best remembered
for the present prints. Whiting served under General Zachary Taylor
during the Mexican-American War and participated in the battles of
Fort Brown, Monterey, Vera Cruz, and Cerro Gordo. Late in 1845,
General Taylor's army was encamped at Corpus Christi, Texas. It
advanced to the United States side of the Rio Grande in January
1846, remaining until May when it marched on the strongly fortified
city of Monterey, which was taken in September. Whiting portrays
this portion of the campaign in the Army Portfolio.
This is a superb set of these
elusive prints of the Mexican-American War, and together with Henry
Walke's Naval Portfolio (1848) and George Wilkins Kendall and
Carl Nebel's The War Between the United States and Mexico,
Illustrated (1851), one of the most impressively executed and
rarest of the eyewitness accounts of this important conflict.
Refs.: America
On Stone, p. 175; Eberstadt, pp. 162, 910; Sandweiss et al.,
Eyewitness to War: Prints and Daguerreotypes of the Mexican War,
1846–1848; Streeter sale, vol. I, 275, ill. p. 201; Tyler,
The Mexican War, pp. 24–45.
|
