Preview – Katz & Virga, “Civil War Sketch Book”

The good folks at Norton sent me a copy of Civil War Sketch Book: Drawings from the Battlefront, by Harry L. Katz and Vincent Virga, a nice, big, coffee-table book (without legs). Inside is the work of newspaper correspondents (or “specials” for short) who covered the war from the front, including Alfred & William Waud, Frank Vizetelly, Winslow Homer, Thomas Nast, Arthur Lumley, Edwin Forbes, and many more. Arranged in chronological order, the narrative tells the story of the illustrators, how they did their work and the conditions under which they did it. The reproductions of sketches and finished etchings are a delight – Kindle for this makes little sense. The book is a tie-in to the May 2012 issue of National Geographic Magazine and its cover story, Bringing the Civil War to Life by Katz. Follow the link and find a nice gallery of sketches from the book.