Random Excellence

Photographer Unknown: Union General W. H. French Standing
in Front of Tent, Bealton, Va., October 1863

I was going to try to make this into a print offer, until, too many hours past bedtime, the awful truth snuck up on me: nobody would want a print of this except me. Well, me and, perhaps, one Civil War buff from Poughkeepsie. Still, I think it's a charming old picture, of a pompous old fellow. I like how he stands there stoutly, swimming in that sea of bokeh, and I like the damaged edges of the plate, and that luminous hand. And by the bye, I don't think the idea of print offers as a regular thing is going to fly. I will still make one once in a while, however, when it seems like a good thing to do.

Posted by: MIKE JOHNSTON