Description

Description: This original CDV shows a group of people dressed in Mid-eastern costume at the Albany Sanitary Fair.

The Albany Army Relief Bazaar (also known as the Albany Sanitary Fair) was a major Civil War-era fundraising event held from February 22 to March 30, 1864, in Albany, New York. It was held inside a large temporary structure and housed an assortment of national and regional booths representing the Capital Region and other US cities, various European nations, the Aborigines, Russia, and “the Orient.” Visitors could browse and bid on donated paintings, photographs, pianos, clothing, toys, and artisanal foods. A major attraction and fundraiser was a lottery for the handwritten first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation penned by President Abraham Lincoln. The Fair was a resounding success and generated over $100,000 (equivalent to about two million today) to support Union military hospitals and field relief.

2” x 3 ½” photograph on a ruled mount that measures 2 3/8” x 3 7/8”. Verso has the backmark of Churchill & Denison of Albany, NY and a 2-cent revenue stamp. Item #P00340

Condition: Light staining, minimally clipped corners, otherwise very good.