Beschreibung:

Kendall, George Wilkins The War between the United States and Mexico Illustrated, Embracing Pictorial Drawings of all the Principal Conflicts by Carl Nebel, author of "Picturesque and Archaeological Voyage in Mexico," with a Description of each Battle. New York: D. Appleton & Company and Philadelphia: George S. Appleton, 1851 (copyright 1850). Lithography by Bayot et Bichebois (most marked "Bayot lth."). 18 x 24 inches, three-quarter burgundy leather over red moire cloth boards, gilt borders on leather and gilt title on front, extended title notes that Kendall was the author of "Texan Santa Fe Expedition," see lot 409. This impressive volume consists of twelve color plates, each approx. 11 x 17 inches, on handmade heavy paper, and a black-and-white map of Army operations in the Valley of Mexico in 1847 as the frontis. Facing each color plate are a couple pages of text describing each scene depicted. The plates remain bright even today, a century and a half later, probably because they were highlighted by hand-application of gum arabic. Only 500 copies were printed of this oversized volume. Today, few remain intact, the prints having been removed for framing. The plates are as follows: (1) Battle of Palo Alto; (2) Capture of Monterey; (3) Battle of Buena Vista; (4) Bombardment of Vera Cruz; (5) Battle of Cerro Gordo (text incomplete, not printed on verso of page); (6) Assault at Contreras; (7) Battle of Churubusco (text incomplete, not printed on verso of page); (8) Molino del Rey - attack upon the molino; (9) Molino del Rey - attack upon the casa mata; (10) Storming of Chapultepec - Pillow's attack; (11) Storming of Chapultepec - Quitman's attack; and (12) Genl. Scott's entrance into Mexico. Some of the prints have brown streaking, particularly in the sky area and the margins at the top and right of the prints, as these lithographs are wont to do. However, they have not been cleaned, which many copies were, and it damaged the brilliant colors of the prints. As newer conservation methods become available, these should be able to be cleaned without the earlier damage to the colors on the prints. Photographs of all plates available upon request. George Wilkins Kendall was the founder and editor of the New Orleans Picayune. During the war with Mexico, he followed the troops as a correspondent. The recent innovations of telegraph made it possible to get news back home quickly and lithography enabled images to be widely distributed. So "media" outlets began for the first time competing with each other to be the first to break news. Hours could make all the difference in the distribution of a paper or magazine. While lithography was still slower than setting text type, it was still much more streamlined than it had been. (It might take a week to get an image cut and printed.) (Sandweiss, et al., 1989). When he decided to write about the war, Kendall hired Carl Nebel, a German artist he met in Mexico City, to do the prints (a move he came to regret later, as Nebel apparently was not easy to work with) (Sandweiss, et al, 1989). Unfortunately, Nebel did not travel to all battlefields, and had to rely on others' sketches for pictures of the battle. A few inaccuracies were introduced, particularly the mountain in the background of the Palo Alto scene. This area is a flat coastal plain. But otherwise, the images are very accurate. The speed, accuracy and, later, artistic renderings of these prints set a high standard for those following Kendall's model. The details and coloring of the prints are admirable even today. See also: Sandweiss, Martha A., Stewart, Rick and Huseman, Ben W. Eyewitness to War: Prints and Daguerreotypes of the Mexican War, 1846-1848. Fort Worth (TX): Amon Carter Museum, 1989. Provenance: Robert and Mary Younger, Morningside House Publishers, Civil War & Historic Book Collection Condition: Spine leather dry; chipping at head and foot of spine. Light surface soil. Scattered foxing, but almost no toning of text leaves