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Page 18 The Antique Shoppe October, 2018
Hello, I have a very Lt. Harry T. Buford
The Civil War Collector good to fine 1st edition aka Loreta Janeta Velazquez.
book published in 1877
that concerns the memoirs
By John Sexton of a Cuban-American
woman who dressed as a
man and fought and was
injured during three years
Mr. Sexton, I have two boxes of glass plate negatives of the Civil War, believed in the Confederate Army.
to be copies of plates made by Matthew Brady, called presentation sets. They It is called, The Woman
include Lincoln, Mead, Grant, Stanton, Lee, the Capitol, battleships, army in Battle: A Narrative of
camps and soldiers. the Exploits, Adventures,
I took them to the Fleetwood Photography Museum in Plainfield, N.J., and and travels of Madame
Richard Bosenburg, a Civil War buff, was able to identify almost everyone in Loreta Janeta Velázquez,
the slides. There are 50 slides per box with a total of 100. The museum had a Otherwise Known as
projector that was used with them. Lieutenant Harry T. Buford, Confederate
The owner would like to know their value States Army. She most notably fought at
and where you would suggest he could sell Shiloh and went on to be jailed in Richmond,
them. Thank you for your assistance. worked as a Confederate spy, and either
— Kathleen Palmer, Director, Studio 7 defected and worked for the Union as a spy or as a double agent.
Fine Art Gallery, Bernardsville, NJ
Her story was told in 2013 on PBS’s American Voices program. Born in Cuba,
JS: The glass plate images you show are she was raised in New Orleans and lost her three children to fever in St. Louis.
more commonly known as magic lantern Her husband left the Union Army to train Confederate soldiers but was killed in
slides. Prior to motion pictures, magic a training accident. The author’s memoirs were brushed aside and discounted
lanterns were in many homes, and public by Confederate General Jubal Early, and few of her books were published and
shows were held in cities around the world. are very rare.
According to the website magiclantern.org, Do you know of any Civil War Era book collectors who might be interested
there were between 30,000 and in this book given the transgender, female in arms, Cuban and New Orleans
60,000 magic lantern showmen origins, and who owned a slave as an officer in the Confederate army? She was
worldwide in 1895, which is injured, imprisoned by the Confederacy, and was hired by the Union’s Secret
Magic lantern about the date of your slides. Service. Her story has gained interest, and the narrative checks out as to her
slides of Magic lanterns, which would ordeals.
Abraham Lincoln project an image onto a wall, I feel that this book is a museum or special collections’ piece. I wanted to
& Grace Fletcher date back to the 18th century see if it is a valuable item to any library or collection that you may be aware of.
(Daniel Webster’s when hand-painted glass slides Thank you in advance for any information you might provide.
1st wife) were utilized. That’s right, the JS: Your book is a fairly scarce first edition telling a mostly fictional account
1700s; the technology was
actually developed in the 1600s. of a woman posing as a Confederate officer with extraordinary adventures in
Photographic plates were the Civil War. This book has been reprinted several times and is available as an
first used in the mid-19th ebook for $8. Your original, published in 1897, appears clean and very good
century. These Civil War overall. I can find two Ex-Libris original copies for sale for about $100 each.
examples date to the late Victorian Era. Magic lantern slides are fairly common Your better copy with good, embossed decorated covers might sell for $200-
to the antique marketplace and are seen in many genres. Between 6,000 and $300 based on its scarcity and notoriety from the TV series on History Channel,
8,000 slides are listed on eBay each day. On the day of this “Full Metal Corset Secret Soldiers of the
writing, there were more than 24,000 listed. Civil War.
Prices on eBay range from a few dollars to a few hundred Wikipedia reports this on her:
dollars per slide. Skinner Auctions Boston sold two of the Loreta Janeta Velázquez (June 26, 1842
most expensive slides I know of for $1,600 on February – c. 1902) was a Cuban-born woman
1 of this year, lot 1062 of slaves. Civil War slides can be who claimed that she masqueraded as
found priced individually from about $5 and up online and a male Confederate soldier during the
at Civil War trade shows. Better groups of Civil War slides American Civil War… Everything known
sell between $20 and $30 in groups. Cowan’s auctions in about Velázquez comes from her 600-
Cincinnati sold a group of 157 Civil War slides of a similar page book. How much of it is true is
genre as lot 79 on June 9, 2017 for $4,800, $30 per slide. unknown. Historians have generally
doubted its veracity for the improbability
of many of her adventures, her frequent
Hello, John. I have a cane that has the following vagueness or inaccuracy about names
inscription and would like to find its true worth. and places, and the absence of any
The writing is as follows: “Cut in the center of Seven evidence to corroborate her sensational
Pines battlefield where 15,000 soldiers were killed. claims, due to Jubal Early’s refusal to
May 31st to June 1st 1862. Battle fought by Lee and accept her memoirs as fact… In 2007,
McClellan. Battlefield Guide J.E. Lynn.” The History Channel broadcast Full Metal
Looking forward to your answer and thank you for your Corset, a program that presented details A first edition book of the factual/
fanciful exploits of Loreta Janeta
expertise. of Velázquez’s story as genuine. However, Valazquez who fought in the Civil
JS: Civil War folk art canes are popular collector items. the overall truthfulness of her account War dressed as a soldier,
Some were quite elaborate, professionally carved, and sold A folk art cane remains indeterminate and highly $200-$300.
to veterans. Similar uncarved battlefield souvenirs, such carved from wood questionable.
as this with similar inked inscriptions, sell in auction for from a Civil War John Sexton is an independent appraiser and expert of Civil War memorabilia. He is an accredited member of
between $200 and $500. battlefield, $200- appraisal of a Civil War item, email a photo and a description to mclwriter@gmail.com.
$500.