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Historic Lithograph Restored
Andersonville Prison print came to Union Springs in 1887 Tuesday, August 14, 2007
By Debra J. Groom Staff writer
The 40- by 60-inch lithograph looms large in the war history room at the Frontenac Historical Society Museum in Union Springs.
It shows the chaos and misery of a Civil War prison: Andersonville Prison, often called the worst. At one time, Andersonville held 33,000 Union POWs. Nearly 13,000 of them died of malnutrition, disease and poor sanitation while imprisoned there.
At one time, the lithograph was nearly black on the right side. Water severely stained it while it hung in the First Baptist Church in Union Springs.
Today, thanks to West Lake Conservators in Mottville, the lithograph has new life. A faint stain still marks the right, but most of that side of the piece and its view of thousands of men, hills, tents and fencing now can be seen.
Michele Phillips, conservator of paper objects and photographic materials, worked for nearly six weeks, carefully erasing damage from the piece.
It was carefully unframed so not to rip or crinkle any part of the fragile paper. She said the canvas backing was removed in strips. The lithograph then was washed in water and an alkaline, calcium hydroxide, to remove the stain and acid buildup.
"We needed to remove the acid that is hurting the paper," Phillips said. "We needed to reduce the overall distraction of the damage. We can't remove it completely. But we wanted to improve the aesthetics and wanted to improve the chemical stability of the paper."
The most difficult part of the process was dealing with the size of the piece, Phillips said.
"Washing something that size is a challenge," she said. Luckily, West Lake Conservators had a sink large enough for the lithograph. Phillips said if it didn't, workers would have had to build one.
Having the lithograph back on the wall in the museum is a dream come true, said Pat Kimber, president of the Frontenac Historical Society's board of directors. She said it is one of only a couple of copies of the original lithograph of that size that still exists.
"We suspected it had value, but then we saw it on Antiques Roadshow," Kimber said. "And it's very very important to Union Springs. There were Union Springs men at Andersonville and Union Springs men who died there."
George Carr, LaFayette Carr, Henry Jenner, John VanBuren and James West were village men who died at the prison camp in Georgia.
The original lithograph was done by a former Andersonville prisoner, Thomas O'Dea, a soldier with Company E of the 16th Regiment, Maine Infantry. He said he drew the scene at Andersonville from memory after his release.
Copies then were made and spread throughout the country.
A story in the Union Springs Advertiser newspaper in April 28, 1887, states:
"Henry C. Carr has presented A. A. Hoff Post GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) with a copy of O'Dea's famous picture of Andersonville prison as it appeared August 1, 1864, when it contained 35,000 prisoners of war. It is a combination of 20 pictures, including a picture of the author and is 40x60 inches in size."
Kimber said "local memory recalls" that the lithograph was passed to the A. A. Hoff Women's Relief Corp., an auxiliary to the GAR post, and hung for years in the Baptist Church.
When the church was torn down, the lithograph was offered to the national Women's Relief Corp. But the national group required shipment to be prepaid, and Union Springs residents didn't have the money to do that, Kimber said.
So, the lithograph was packed away at a local school.
In 1976, it was presented to the Frontenac Museum and was hung in the War Memorial room. Donations in memory of Wilma Peck, a longtime Union Springs resident, paid for an assessment of the piece. A grant from the Lower Hudson Conference of Historical Agencies and Museums helped restore the lithograph this year.
The restoration cost about $7,000.
Debra J. Groom can be reached at dgroom@syracuse.com
I know the Newfane Historical society has one of these Lithographs also,
Regards,
Bill O'Dea
Salt boiler mess
Andersonville Prison print came to Union Springs in 1887 Tuesday, August 14, 2007
By Debra J. Groom Staff writer
The 40- by 60-inch lithograph looms large in the war history room at the Frontenac Historical Society Museum in Union Springs.
It shows the chaos and misery of a Civil War prison: Andersonville Prison, often called the worst. At one time, Andersonville held 33,000 Union POWs. Nearly 13,000 of them died of malnutrition, disease and poor sanitation while imprisoned there.
At one time, the lithograph was nearly black on the right side. Water severely stained it while it hung in the First Baptist Church in Union Springs.
Today, thanks to West Lake Conservators in Mottville, the lithograph has new life. A faint stain still marks the right, but most of that side of the piece and its view of thousands of men, hills, tents and fencing now can be seen.
Michele Phillips, conservator of paper objects and photographic materials, worked for nearly six weeks, carefully erasing damage from the piece.
It was carefully unframed so not to rip or crinkle any part of the fragile paper. She said the canvas backing was removed in strips. The lithograph then was washed in water and an alkaline, calcium hydroxide, to remove the stain and acid buildup.
"We needed to remove the acid that is hurting the paper," Phillips said. "We needed to reduce the overall distraction of the damage. We can't remove it completely. But we wanted to improve the aesthetics and wanted to improve the chemical stability of the paper."
The most difficult part of the process was dealing with the size of the piece, Phillips said.
"Washing something that size is a challenge," she said. Luckily, West Lake Conservators had a sink large enough for the lithograph. Phillips said if it didn't, workers would have had to build one.
Having the lithograph back on the wall in the museum is a dream come true, said Pat Kimber, president of the Frontenac Historical Society's board of directors. She said it is one of only a couple of copies of the original lithograph of that size that still exists.
"We suspected it had value, but then we saw it on Antiques Roadshow," Kimber said. "And it's very very important to Union Springs. There were Union Springs men at Andersonville and Union Springs men who died there."
George Carr, LaFayette Carr, Henry Jenner, John VanBuren and James West were village men who died at the prison camp in Georgia.
The original lithograph was done by a former Andersonville prisoner, Thomas O'Dea, a soldier with Company E of the 16th Regiment, Maine Infantry. He said he drew the scene at Andersonville from memory after his release.
Copies then were made and spread throughout the country.
A story in the Union Springs Advertiser newspaper in April 28, 1887, states:
"Henry C. Carr has presented A. A. Hoff Post GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) with a copy of O'Dea's famous picture of Andersonville prison as it appeared August 1, 1864, when it contained 35,000 prisoners of war. It is a combination of 20 pictures, including a picture of the author and is 40x60 inches in size."
Kimber said "local memory recalls" that the lithograph was passed to the A. A. Hoff Women's Relief Corp., an auxiliary to the GAR post, and hung for years in the Baptist Church.
When the church was torn down, the lithograph was offered to the national Women's Relief Corp. But the national group required shipment to be prepaid, and Union Springs residents didn't have the money to do that, Kimber said.
So, the lithograph was packed away at a local school.
In 1976, it was presented to the Frontenac Museum and was hung in the War Memorial room. Donations in memory of Wilma Peck, a longtime Union Springs resident, paid for an assessment of the piece. A grant from the Lower Hudson Conference of Historical Agencies and Museums helped restore the lithograph this year.
The restoration cost about $7,000.
Debra J. Groom can be reached at dgroom@syracuse.com
I know the Newfane Historical society has one of these Lithographs also,
Regards,
Bill O'Dea
Salt boiler mess
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