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THBCourier Dispatch Case Owned by Civil War Artist, Mapmaker, & Soldier Robert Knox Sneden, 40th New York Infantry
About Seller
6270 Este Ave.
Cincinnati , OH 45232
United States
With offices in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Denver, Cowan’s holds over 40 auctions each year, with annual sales exceeding $16M. We reach buyers around the globe, and take pride in our reputation for integrity, customer service and great results. A full-service house, Cowan’s Auctions specializes in Am...Read more
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About Auction
LiveNov 17, 2017 - Nov 18, 2017
Cowan's Auctions dawnie@cowans.com
View Full Catalog (372)
- Lot Description
Courier dispatch case made of Japanned tin, 6.5 x 4.5 x .75 in., with applied paper label on front identified to "R.K. Sneden / 40th Regt. New York Vols." With the following inscribed in tin on reverse side: "R.K. Sneden / 40th NY Vols. / Topog. Engr. USA / Headqrs. 3rd Corps(?)." With secret note from Sneden found inside the top cover, which reads: "$10.00 will be paid by Capt. Chauncey McKeever. A.A.G. to Maj. Genl. S.P. Heintzelman Headquarters 3rd Army Corps A.P. to the person who may find this case of papers on this person or elsewhere if I should be found killed."
Sneden enlisted at age 24 as a private in the 40th New York Volunteers in 1861, and became a draftsmen and topographic engineer in 1862. He served in the Peninsula Campaign, and following his duty, went to Washington, and was later captured by John S. Mosby at Brandy Station and held in a number of southern prisons, including Libby in Richmond, and Andersonville in Georgia. After his parole in 1864, he worked for a while as an architect before dying in 1911 at the New York State Soldiers and Sailors Home in Bath, NY.
It was not until the mid-1990s that Sneden's real accomplishment and life's work came to light. During the war he apparently kept detailed diaries and made a number of sketches which he assembled into an album. Using these as inspiration, during the 1870s-90s, he produced a 6000pp manuscript memoir of his service, illustrated with hundreds of original watercolors of scenes from the Virginia Theater, POW camps and more. The collection was ultimately purchased by the Virginia Historical Society, and not long afterwards Simon and Schuster purchased the publication rights for the memoir for a reported $355,000. The subsequent book Eye of the Storm. A Civil War Odyssey (C.F. Bryan, Jr. and N.D. Lankford, editors) The Free Press, New York, was published in 2000 and accompanies the lot, along with the follow-up title, Images from the Storm (C.F. Bryan, Jr., J.C. Kelly, and N.D. Lankford, editors), published in 2001.
While the vast majority of Sneden's works are curated at the Virginia Historical Society, at least five paintings have been located in the collections of the New York Historical Society, and several of his maps are curated at the Library of Congress and the National Archives.Significant surface wear to case, with scratching and surface loss. Inked note on front in very good, legible condition. Note inside case with some spotting, but can still be deciphered.Condition
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Eliminate the Hassle of Third-Party Shippers: Let Cowan's Ship Directly To You!
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