This collection is a valuable firsthand look at the Civil War through the words and sketches of witnesses and reporters from the period complete with obvious political maneuvering. Many of the sketches and portraits relate to important events and famous individuals during the war. There are also political cartoons, caricatures, and advertisements for a variety of goods, including bullet proof vests and Remington revolvers. The bulk of the lot consists of a selection of Harper's Weekly Journals. Some of the portraits in Harper's Weekly Journals portray some of the most famous men of the war such as General Burnside who appears in the Saturday, January 18, 1862, edition and a full page print of Brigadier General George Armstrong Custer on the Saturday, March 19, 1864, edition. Sherman and his troops are captured in multiple images. Colonel Ellsworth appears in multiple editions, and a print commemorating Ellsworth as the first Union casualty in the Civil War (not counting those killed in the Baltimore Riots) is among the remaining documents. There are also two copies of the Charleston Daily Courier newspaper, a Currier & Ives print, and Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper from September 12, 1863, covering Quantrell Rebel's massacre in Lawrence, Kansas.

Most of the items are very good and well above average condition for their age. Some have minor tearing and most have some staining.