Rare! 1865 Civil War Stereoview U. S. Capitol Wartime Construction Depot Anthony

  

1865 Civil War Stereoview - U. Capitol Wartime Construction Depot - Anthony 1291. Format: Albumen Print on Card Mount. Capitol Building, East Front Portico. 1291 ("Principal Entrance to the Capitol, from the East side").

Capitol East Front Portico operating as an active wartime construction staging zone. Dating to the spring of 1865, prior to the end of the Civil War on April 9, this historic image showcases the gritty reality of the Capitol grounds while the conflict still raged.

While the grand cast-iron dome structure had been structurally finalized overhead, the ground-level plaza was still functioning as a major industrial hub for the ongoing Capitol extension project. Historical Significance & Visual Highlights.

The unpaved dirt East Plaza is littered with authentic construction debris, stone dust, and masonry rubble. Parked at the base of the grand portico steps is an official horse-drawn transport carriage.

The dark wooden side panel displays obscured original block lettering reading U. The horse stands unattended without a driver. Shot using a multi-second wet-plate collodion process, the carriage and wheels are sharp while the horse's head shows a slight, authentic motion blur from a quick head twitch during the exposure. Site Infrastructure Details (Senate Wing Focus). This view showcases the grand entrance of the newly completed.

A key chronological marker is the pair of. Bare stone statue pedestals (cheek-blocks) flanking the steps. Which remained completely empty throughout the conflict as no statues were ever carved for them. Directly above the columns, the 1863 Crawford pediment sculpture. Stands out in sharp relief.

Deep-set arched tunnels run structurally underneath the portico landing, flanked by a vintage cast-iron gas street lamp. The back of the card features the complete, original paper label printed by the famous publishing house E. From their legendary shop at 591 Broadway, New York. Handwritten Notation: Includes a vintage collector or archival pencil/ink inventory mark reading "DC 111" on the lower right back.

Front: The print retains great detail with strong contrast, showing expected light age-toning, faint spotting, and minor corner/edge wear consistent with a 160-year-old photographic artifact. The lower left front is marked with the negative sequence number 1291. This is a phenomenal, museum-quality piece of American history perfect for collectors of Civil War photography, Washington D. History, or early photographic Americana. THIS IS NOT A COPY OR A REPRODUCTION.