Manassas Junction
March 1862
Medium
Albumen print, pl. 10 from the album "Gardner's Photographic Sketch Book of the War, vol. 1" (1866)
Dimensions
Image/paper: 17.3 × 22.8 cm (6 13/16 × 9 in.); Album page: 31.2 × 44.4 cm (12 5/16 × 17 1/2 in.)
Classification
photograph
Department
Photography and Media
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
196181
Art Historical Context
"Manassas Junction," albumen print captured in March 1862 by photographers George N. Barnard and F. Gibson, offers a poignant glimpse into the American Civil War. Featured as plate 10 in Alexander Gardner's landmark 1866 publication, *Gardner's Photographic Sketch Book the War, Volume 1*, this 17.3 × 22.8 cm image (mounted on a larger 31.2 × 44.4 cm album page) documents a vital railroad hub in Virginia. Albumen prints, made by coating paper with egg whites and silver salts, produced the era's sharpest, richest photographic tones, revolutionizing visual storytelling. Manassas Junction was a s...