CIVIL WAR - PATRIOTIC LETTERSHEET – GIVE US BACK OUR OLD COMMANDER
Give Us Back Our Old Commander. Song regarding Gen. McClellan. 8" x 5"; Charles Magnus, NewYork. Hand colored, Single page, Fine cond. (Cwpo442); $95.
A fine example of the graphic arts of the Civil War is the illustrative lettersheet, which in essence combined the text of a song with letter paper.  These songsheets generally were 8 1/2 x 11 inches, folded once horizontally, with the illustration on the front page, with the other 3 pages available to write on.  Most of the surviving sheets are found with only the illustrated cover intact.  Several firms produced work during this period, mainly G.P. Hardwick of Washington, DC, W.A. Stephens of Philadelphia, J. Gay and J. Magee of Philadelphia. However it was the  Charles Magnus firm that was the most prolific publisher of illustrated stationery during the Civil War, making envelopes, letterpaper, songsheets, maps, prints, games, playing cards and other items.