The Military Backdrop of the Moore Brothers in Hartford, Conn.
By Adam Ochs Fleischer This column is the first to investigate a backdrop used in Connecticut during the Civil War. Despite its small size, the “Nutmegger” state made a significant
Category: Behind the Backdrop
The Caribbean Plantation Backdrop
By Adam Ochs Fleischer The backdrop featured in this installment is noteworthy because the content of the scene is compelling and subject to interpretation. Usually, backdrops of the era are
Kunstman’s Cannonball Backdrop
By Adam Ochs Fleischer This installment is significant in that it marks the first time a photographer’s identity and use of a backdrop was discovered through period images of the
Artificial Intelligence and Backdrop Research
By Adam Ochs Fleischer Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the world in myriad ways, from revolutionizing industries and transforming business operations, to enabling apps like TikTok to cleverly recommend exactly
The Harp Backdrop of Camp Graham
By Adam Ochs Fleischer The backdrop highlighted in this installment is the only example I have cataloged thus far featuring subjects from a single regiment: the 23rd Pennsylvania Infantry, also
U.S. Capitol Building and Dome Backdrops
By Adam Ochs Fleischer A central theme of this column since its inception is that backdrops used in Civil War images generally suggest the photographer’s location. It can be fairly
The Cavalry and Cannon Backdrop
By Adam Ochs Fleischer In this installment, we move to the Western Theater of the war to examine a backdrop used at Camp Hendershott in Davenport, Iowa, and likely in
House Near the Susquehanna Backdrop
By Adam Ochs Fleischer In this installment, we examine a painted backdrop that does not have a military theme. Before the Civil War, landscape painting as a genre dominated American
Reflections on Two Years
By Adam Ochs Fleischer With this issue marking the second anniversary of this column, it seems fitting to stop and assess what’s been accomplished so far, as well as to
The Palm Tree Backdrop of Jackson, Michigan
By Adam Ochs Fleischer In this installment, we stay in the Wolverine state to study an example used in Jackson by photographer Norman Erastus Allen. Like Kalamazoo, the city of