VICKSBURG TRADE CARDS

Victorian trade cards are an early form of advertising. Popularized after the Civil War by businesses, they offer a colorful and diverse look at popular culture and society in the late 1800s. The advent of lithography in the 1870s made it possible to mass-produce them in color, leading to a golden age from 1876 to the early 1900s when halftone printed newspaper and magazine ads became more economical. They typically had a picture on one side and an ad on the other, and were popular for medicines, sewing, and farm equipment, and a range of other products. Vicksburg's merchants actively utilized trade cards to advertise their wares. Even the newspapers used them. Below are photos of some of them:

COLT 1861 NAVY POCKET REVOLVER WITH ENGRAVING BY GUSTAVE YOUNG?

This is a recent acquisition from a local Vicksburg collector. The .36 caliber Colt 1861 Navy pocket revolver is (apparently) in its original walnut box with most if not all of its original appurtenances. The engraving is beautiful, with the hammer sporting the coyote head used by master engraver Gustave Young to mark his pieces. The very low serial number, "555", may indicate that this was one of Young's early products. The revolver is silver plated, with spots of wear where it has disappeared. The cylinder engraving appears to be a horse-drawn stagecoach along with other figures.

Coyote head on each side of the hammer.

The original Colt walnut case is in great condition.

 ii

Horse-drawn stagecoach.

All serial numbers match.

VICKSBURG & MISSISSIPPI CDVs

Following are photos of some of my small collection of CDVs made by Vicksburg and other Mississippi photographers around the time of the War for Independence (Southern).

I've never been a serious collector of CDVs, yet these and a few others just caught my eye.

MY SUTTON CONFEDERATE ANCESTORS

Both of these soldiers, Great-Great Uncles on my mother's side, are buried in a private graveyard near our old home place near Prentiss, Mississippi. I would have liked to have fought beside them. They are among my most revered personal "treasures."

MY FAVORITE WHITTLED (CARVED) MINIE BALL

Looks like a little boat, doesn't it? I dug it from very near the Confederates most southern artillery emplacement, South Fort, which overlooks the Mississippi River. For that reason, I think it certainly was the Confederate soldier's intent to carve a minie ball in the shape of a boat or ship - a trinket in the shape of his enemy - the boats of Porter's and Farragut's armadas firing at the fort and the trenches  along the ridges from the river below.

PIN ENIGMA - 1898 CARNIVAL VICKSBURG & ILLINOIS

I have two of these small pins commemorating a carnival held in Vicksburg in 1898. The first pin that I found (see an earlier post for a photo) was absent the "Illinois" portion that is shown on the pin in the photo, so I figured it had merely lost its fastening device. But when I found this second one, I was surprised to see the "Illinois" attachment device that connected it to the Vicksburg carnival. I have no clue as to why the state of Illinois and Vicksburg's 1898 carnival are connected. Any ideas?

CIVIL WAR STARR CARBINE, NICKEL-PLATED REMINGTON "DERRINGER"

Recently acquired from a local collector, these two antique firearms are in superb condition. Case hardening is very evident on the beautifully maintained Starr, while the nickel-plated derringer has ivory grips. There is no way to know whether or not the Starr was used locally during the War for Southern Independence. These two fine relics prove once again that Vicksburg is home to many advanced collectors of many different kinds of collectibles.

VICKSBURG'S PIAZZA HOTEL - ANOTHER METAL DETECTOR FIND

I love to collect small reminders of Vicksburg's past. This brass key and attached brass ID, to a hotel room in Vicksburg's  old Piazza Hotel, which I dug while on a relic hunt here in Vicksburg, is one such item. It's inscribed,

"PLEASE SEND ME BACK/TO HOTEL PIAZZA/VICKSBURG, MISS."

I'll bet it has seen some things...

EARLY VICKSBURG COIN SILVER JEWELERS & SILVERSMITHS

Vicksburg was home to several outstanding jewelers and silversmiths during its early years. These included Klein & Brothers, Wilson & Klein, Klein & Lampkin, W. Pitkin, James D. Anderson, D. B. Downing, and Ben Guider, as well as others. I have been fortunate to have purchased representative examples of their work; the photo is of extras that I have for sale in our shop.

CIVIL WAR CONFEDERATE VAN DORN OR LOUISIANA CRESCENT HAT OR COAT PIN?

This is one of my favorite finds. It's a small crescent fabricated from a worn seated liberty dime. It was intended as a pin-on as can be seen by the remains of the device on its reverse. The initials appear to be "C. F. L." Was the original owner a member of the Van Dorn corps, or the famed New Orleans Louisiana Crescent Regiment? Research would be required to even provide a clue.