American Historical Ephemera & Photography, Featuring Property from the James Milgram, M.D., Collection of Broadsides, Ephemeral Americana & Historical Documents

Large quarto album (10 1/2 x 13 1/2 in.) 270 x 350 mm. Cloth-covered boards, gilt embossed front cover, "Photographic Sketches By J.M. Greene." Inside front cover with applied paper presentation label, "P.A. Bishop, Elyria, O." (covers fully separated at hinge, album pages disbound). The album contains 14 albumen photographs, approx. 6 x 8 in., or smaller, each mounted on 10 3/4 x 13 in. board, most accompanied by handwritten captions. Most mounted recto to album pages, with the exception of 4 separate images mounted recto/verso to album pages (toning and some fading to prints, occasional spotting and soiling to prints; toning, soiling, corner and edge wear to album pages).

Jeremiah M. Greene (born ca 1825), was considered one of the oldest photographers in the United States during the early 20th century, having started his business in Fulton, NY in 1848, and going on to practice in Syracuse, Geneva, and Auburn, NY, then in Cleveland, OH until he retired in his 70s. The album is accompanied by an early 20th century newspaper article written about Greene entitled "Little Sleep and Much Toil Make an Old Man Young," which refers to the photographer as the "veteran of the camera." At the age of 75, Greene explained, "I have only slept about four hours a day for the last fifty years...I won't say that four hours a day is enough sleep for everybody, but I do say that it has been, and still is, enough for me. Don't I look it?" Although he was retired when the article was published, Greene was still taking pictures at that time, especially outdoor views. In addition to being a well-known photographer, Greene was also the great-grandson of two Revolutionary War generals by the names of Greene and Merrit.

The album is highlighted by a photograph of Jeremiah Greene and Peter A. Bishop, the fellow to whom Greene presented the sketchbook, gathered together with friends (all identified, including a dog), smoking and drinking wine, surrounded by vegetation, stuffed birds, and firearms that appear to be hanging from overhead beams. The remaining images capture the landscape and buildings of Elyria, Ohio and the surrounding areas, including the East and West Falls, as well as the East and West Branches of the Black River, Basin Rock, and a dam, plus locations such as Broad Street, the Washington Avenue bridge, the Cleveland Flats, the Beere-House, and two residences, one identified as P.A. Bishop's home.

[With:] 2 Civil War letters written by the recipient of the album, Peter A. Bishop, to his wife. Although the letters do not relate directly to the archive, they do contain interesting content. At the age of 43, Bishop enlisted in 1861 and was mustered into the 58th Ohio Infantry. In a letter dated 1 December 1861, written from Cincinnati, Bishop expresses his intense love for his wife and children as well as the sadness he feels for the recent loss of his son Willy. In the second letter, dated 20 July 1862, written from Memphis, Bishop describes an incident that took place in Germantown, TN, in which the locals announced their intentions to hang a German staying in town with his family because he was a Union man. Bishop helped the German family to escape the "Tyrants from Germantown." He also mentions a fight that took place between his Company and Company E of the 1st Nebraska Regiment, which resulted in one soldier getting stabbed, another getting his head cut open, and a third getting his finger shot off. Overall, an intriguing set of letters that enhance the lot.