C. J. Young Artist: Archaeology of Civil War Photography and Stencil Cutting at Camp Nelson, Kentucky
Author(s): W. Stephen McBride
Year: 2017
Summary
Recent excavations at Camp Nelson Civil War Park, KY have focused on the William Berkele Sutler store, which was part of the camp’s commercial district. While excavating north of the Berkele Store, we unexpectedly found evidence of a photograph gallery which included a stencil cutting operation. Both of these products were in demand for Civil War soldiers, the former to send portraits of themselves back to loved ones, perhaps for the last time, and the latter to mark and claim personal possessions. Photographic artifacts, including brass mats and preservers and glass plates, suggest that cased photographs were produced at this site and one stencil marked "C.J. Young Artist" indicates the photographer and stencil cutter was Cassius Jones Young. Archival evidence of three other photograph galleries at Camp Nelson has also been discovered, and reflects the popularity of producing an image of oneself for posterity during wartime.
Cite this Record
C. J. Young Artist: Archaeology of Civil War Photography and Stencil Cutting at Camp Nelson, Kentucky. W. Stephen McBride. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Fort Worth, TX. 2017 ( tDAR id: 435514)
This Resource is Part of the Following Collections
Keywords
General
Photography
•
stencils
•
sutler store
Geographic Keywords
North America
•
United States of America
Temporal Keywords
Civil War
Spatial Coverage
min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;
Individual & Institutional Roles
Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology
Record Identifiers
PaperId(s): 646