c. 1860 Civil War Photo Album (14) Albumen Images by Photographer Jeremiah M. Greene of Elyria, Ohio

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Dec 27, 2025

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• Lot Description
  Photographs
  c. 1860 Civil War Photo Album by Photographer Jeremiah Merritt Greene of Elyria, Ohio with Excellent Provenance
  c. 1860 Civil War Era, Presentation Photographic Album containing (14) Albumen Photographs by Photographer Jeremiah M. Greene of Elyria, Ohio, Plus Two Choice Content Civil War Date Letters written by the Albums Owner, Peter A. Bishop of Elyria, Ohio, (17) Total Items, overall Fine.
  Jeremiah M. Greene (born ca 1825), is considered one of the Oldest Photographers in the United States during the early 19th century, having started his business in Fulton, New York in 1848, then going on to practice in Syracuse, Geneva, and Auburn, NY, then finally in Cleveland, Ohio until he retired in his late 70s. This photograph album measuring 10.5" x 13.5" (270 x 350 mm) has Brown Cloth-covered boards, with a Gilt Embossed front cover reading: "Photographic Sketches By J. M. Greene." Pasted inside its front cover is a presentation label reading, "P.A. Bishop, Elyria, O.(hio)".
  The hardcovers are fully separated at the spine, with the individual photo album pages intact but loose. This photo album contains 14 Albumen Photographs, each measuring about 6" x 8", all mounted on 10.75" x 13" heavy display cards, with most images accompanied by handwritten captions.
  Most of the photographs have been mounted to one side of the album pages, with the exception of 4 separate images which are mounted front and back on both sides of the album pages. There is overall expected tone and some fading, occasional soiling to prints and edge wear to the album pages from use.
  A highlight being an original photograph of the photographer Jeremiah Greene, together with Civil War soldier Peter A. Bishop, who was the initial Owner of this presentation photo album to whom Jeremiah Greene presented it. Images shown include people gathered together with other friends, all being identified, even including a dog! This group is shown smoking and drinking wine, surrounded by local vegetation, stuffed birds, and hunting firearms that appear hanging from overhead beams. The remaining photo images capture the local surrounding landscape, rivers, and buildings of Elyria, Ohio. Also shown are 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 various locations and buildings such as Broad Street, the Washington Avenue Bridge, the Cleveland Flats, the Beere-House, and two residences, one identified as P. A. Bishop's own home.
  This archive also includes (2) Civil War Dated Autograph Letters Signed, "P. A. Bishop" and "P. A. B.", being handwritten by the recipient of this Presentation Album, Peter A. Bishop, each letter is written and addressed home to his wife. These two Union Civil War Army Letters do relate directly to the identification, originality and provenance of this archive. They each contain interesting Civil War content. At the age of 43, Bishop enlisted in 1861 and was mustered into the 58th Ohio Infantry. In a letter dated December 1, 1861, 4-pages, well written in rich brown ink on light blue lined period wove paper, Choice Very Fine, is 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.
  The second remarkable content letter, is dated July 20th, 1862 addressed from Memphis, 4-pages, well written in rich brown ink on light blue lined period wove paper, Choice Very Fine. Here, Bishop describes an fierce fight and 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 58th Ohio Union Army 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 pair of historic Civil War letters that enhance the value and original provenance of this intriguing lot.
  Also accompanied by a newspaper article believed to be from 1903, featuring the photographer Jeremiah M. Greene with his printed photo, stating he is a Member of the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution and was directly related to American Revolutionary War General, his great grandfather; General Greene, on his father's side. Greene is currently thought to be the one of the oldest, if not the oldest, photographer in the country, having begun his business in 1848 in Fulton, New York." (17 items)
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  This album is accompanied by a circa 1903 newspaper article written about photographer Photographer Jeremiah M. Greene titled: "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 a historic American Revolutionary War General by the name of Nathaniel Greene.
  We located one other example of a Jeremiah Merritt Greene Photograph Album at the Western Reserve Historical Society
  Greene, Jeremiah Merritt
  Dates: ca. 1865
  Jeremiah Merritt Greene (1829-1916) was a Cleveland, Ohio, professional photographer. He came to Cleveland in 1857 from Syracuse, New York, and learned photographic processes through his work at the studio of Cleveland photographer James F. Ryder. He opened his first studio in Cleveland in 1859, and maintained his photographic business in there until 1910.
  The collection consists of one photograph album, titled Photographic Sketches by J. M. Greene, and including eighteen albumen paper prints made by Cleveland, Ohio photographer Jeremiah Merritt Greene. The images include views of Western Reserve architecture, hotels, homes, a locomotive, a paddle-wheel steamship, Abraham Lincoln's catafalque on Public Square in Cleveland, Ohio, views of an unidentified river (possibly the Chagrin River falls), and the First Presbyterian Church of Cleveland, known as the Old Stone Church.
  
  
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