Pen and ink on paper, 7 3/4 x 15 1/8 in. (sight), matted and framed, 15 1/2 x 24 in. Signed "Taber" lower right. The back of the drawing has multiple notations including "Tapping a Wire - War Telegraph" and two hand stamps. An additional light, pencil notation is at the top right of the drawing, near the line where the image was framed, which appears to read, "Military Telegraph - Tapping a Wire." 

An original illustration depicting a man in the field, his weapon and gear at his side, using a monitoring device connected to wires in an attempt to eavesdrop, produced by Walton Tabor for Century Magazine, ca 1880. Provenance: Previously sold by Christie's East, 1988 (consignor relates); consigned by a private collector.

A scarce, early rendering of electronic eavesdropping, which was employed during the Civil War.

Isaac Walton Taber (ca 1857-1933) is best known for his nearly 250 illustrations published in the expansive four-volume series, Battles and Leaders of the Civil War. Many of his sketches were based upon photographs taken by Civil War photographers, and therefore depict actual scenes from the war. He also contributed his artwork to magazines such as Century and St. Nicholas, and illustrated books including Rudyard Kipling's Captain Courageous and the 1928 edition of Herman Melville's Moby Dick.