Scarce original 9 x 7 albumen photograph entitled “Ruins of Arsenal, Richmond, Virginia,” taken on April 1, 1863, famously depicting the ruins of the Richmond and Petersburg railroad bridge in the yard where Confederate artillery was manufactured. Affixed to its original 10.5 x 9.75 descriptive page removed from Gardner's Photographic Sketch Book of the War, published by Philp & Solomons, Washington, 1866. Matted and framed to an overall size of 16 x 16. Scattered staining and soiling, several tiny holes to upper left, and various surface marks and scuffs, otherwise very good condition. This striking image was published as plate “No. 91” in the two-volume Gardner's Photographic Sketch Book of the War, an important compilation of one hundred photographs selected from those taken by his studio throughout the Civil War. The majority of the images in the Sketch Book were captured by photographers he employed; this is one of the sixteen photos credited to Gardner himself, making it especially desirable. Due to the enormous expense of producing such large and high quality photographs there were only about two hundred copies of Gardner’s Sketch Book issued, making even individual plates quite uncommon today.
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