Blanton, Duncan (engraver). Easton Press - The Library of Congress.

UNIFORM AND DRESS OF THE ARMY OF THE CONFEDERATE STATES. Easton Press "Treasures of The Library of Congress" series.

      Norwalk, CT: The Easton Press, [no date - circa 1990]. - Facsimile reprint of the late 1861 (or early 1862) Richmond, Virginia first edition published by Chas. H. Wynne. 5 pages plus 15 single-sided plates and three bound-in errata slips. Hardcover folio; H 35.25cm x L 26.5cm. Full dark brown leather with black stamped lettering upon spine and rear board, front board decorated with mildly foxed white title label. Light foxing upon edges; some toning and foxing upon front and rear endpapers and flyleaves. Interior leaves with their respective toning and other flaws purposely reproduced in facsimile from the faults of the rare original copy owned by the Rare Book and Special Collections Division of The Library of Congress. Laid-in is an Easton Press eight page staple-bound promotional brochure which reviews the development and production of the original edition and its visual representations of dapper dressed Confederate soldiers and officers at the beginning of the Civil War. The book's images of handsomely coiffed Confederate soldiers, meticulously prepared by engraver Duncan Blanton and lithographer E. Crehen, hearken to European military dress styles but the book was almost an instant relic for by late 1862 the Confederacy's supply lines were so impeded as to make standard uniforms an impossibility and, of course, most Confederate soldiers' comically irregular and often tragically threadbare clothing, usually scavenged from dead compatriots or Union troops, stood in ironic contrast to the presumptive aspirations of the illustrators' portraits of the glorious Southern fighter. A handsome very good+ copy. Please note that this book's large size will require additional postage and insurance for any postal class other than domestic Media Mail. [Attributes: Soft Cover]