Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1888-07-24
OUR NEW YORK LETTER.
CHAS. 3. HALL AND HIS cOLLEC-
TON OF WAR TIME PORTRAITS.
He Is the Only Man Who Has Made This
a Speciality. and He Has 10000 Photo
graphs Of Men who Were Engaged in
the Civil War.
Especial correspondence.l

Especial correspondence
NEW York, July 2I-Now and then~,in
the hurly burly of life one meets a man who
is moving along in the achievement Of some
great purpose so quietly that his foot fall is
never heard, and his high aims and patient
labors are never suspected until in some sud
den revelation are recognized the services he
has rendered mankind
The foregoing remark is suggested by the
story Of Mr.. Charles B. Hall, a citizen Of
New York. who is the owner of the largest
and most complete collection Ia the world Of
portraits and pictures relating to the recent
struggle between the north and south.
Seven years ago he was sitting by the bed
side Of a sick daughter, and in order 10 keep
awake through the watches Of the night he
began the perusal Of series Of books issued
by the Scribners, entitled "The Ca npaigns
Of the War; He is himself an old soldier,
and withal lover Of art, for by profession
no is a steel engraver and at present one of
the heads Of the largest private engraving es-
tablishment in the country. The thought
occurred to him that such a history might be
made picturesque, and he at once began to
give substance to the idea As he read, he
UNDERSIGNED every prominent name mem
TONED, every phrase suggestive Of illustra-
ton, and every place for a map where a map
should have been made.
The next day he began the nucleus Of his
vast undertaking. Second hand bookstores
were ransacked, old magazines and pictorial
newspapers purchased, long forgotten records
sought out, and Photographic galleries far
and near that existed during the war or i'm
mediately after were put umrler contribution
for pictures Of the living and dead. A printed
form of letter was prepared, and Mr. Hall
opened an immense correspondence with
those who had participated in the great
drama, in which he solicited contributions
for his work And they began to come,
Not as spies, but In battalions,
until that which was at first but handful
may now be multiplied by thousands. In
the matter Of postage stamps alone the ex-
penditure amounted to hundreds of dollars,
while in the purchase OF negatives, rare
prints, proof copies, costly sets of books for
which he had no use save possibly few pict-
ures, the outlay has run into figures that he
is very careful never 60 mention to his wife
He has told me privately, however, that he
could build another handsome house with the
sum-
BY invitation of friend l recently spent
a day at the residence of Mr.. Hall in the
suburbs Of the city II was just what one
might expect to flnd-the home Of genuine
artists every room filed with bric-a-brac,
etchings and paintings upon the walls, and
articles of virtu in every nook and corner
where could be located limo Of beauty OF
bit Of color. The host was just that charac-
ter of man / expected to meet, gentle, re-
fined, thoroughly informed and-an enthu-
sast He talked lovingly and well Of his
work, complained Of no toll and looked for
ward to no time when it should be ended.
"But come into my 'den.'n he faeetionsly
remarked, leading the way and bounding