Mathew B. Brady: America's First Great Photographer

Photography was still in its infancy when the Civil War broke out in 1861, yet one young man, Mathew B. Brady, had the vision to create a detailed photographic record of the conflict, which nobody imagined would last for more than a few months. He devoted himself utterly to his objective, sinking all his personal funds and heavy loans into the effort to equip his photographers with horse drawn mobile darkrooms with which they could follow the Union forces and capture their exploits throughout the four year conflict. When the war was over, however, his customers shied away from death and destruction, preferring lighter, more agreeable fare, and Brady’s business went bust owing money to scores of creditors. As with many artists before him and since, the true value of his work was not fully appreciated until after his death, broke and alone, in 1896. Brady and his associate photographers made literally thousands of images, for the most part now in the care of the Library of Congress. This book is intended as a tribute to these talented, hardy, and ardent photographers, reproducing a selection of their worksblemishes and allwhich are now recognized as the first in depth photo documentation of warfare.