The Library of Congress has updated their treasure trove with old historic photos when a Houston housewife sold more than 500 photographs from the Civil War era. The woman has collected the pictures for more than 50 years, many of them are stereo pictures or two of the same frame that is printed on one card and meant to be seen in 3-D via a stereo viewer.
This rare collection offers a glimpse of slave life in the South. Another set of the photos depicts President Abraham Lincoln’s funeral procession in 1865. Take a look at some of the sample images from the collection.
A plantation in Charleston, S.C., between 1860 and 1863.
A view from a hill of a crowd observing a tribute to Abraham Lincoln on the street below, between 1865 and 1867
A view of Charleston harbor from the battery with a ship at anchor in the distance. One man leans against the fence post while another is seated on a bench., 1861
A view of Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C. after the death of Abraham Lincoln showing mourning bands draped on columns and a flag at half-staff. A caisson is parked in the foreground, 1865.
Abraham Lincoln’s casket conveyed by funeral car through the crowd on Broad Street in Philadelphia, April 22nd, 1865
An aerial view of buildings on Broadway draped with mourning cloth in preparation for Abraham Lincoln’s funeral procession, April 24th, 1865.
An aerial view of buildings on Broadway near Bowling Green draped with mourning cloth in preparation for Abraham Lincoln’s funeral procession, April 24, 1865.
Artillery and fortifications on Coles Island, South Carolina, 1861.
Circular Church and Secession Hall, Charleston, between 1861 and 1865.
Continuation of ruins of officer’s quarters on the right of the gateway, between 1861 and 1863.
Fort Moultrie, Charleston, S.C., April 1861.
Fort Sumter entrance, Charleston, S.C., between 1861 and 1863. Photo:Library of Congress.
Fort Sumter interior with flag staff, Charleston, S.C., between 1861 and 1863. Photo:Library of Congress.
Fort Sumter, Charleston, S.C., 1861.
Home of Abraham Lincoln, 1865.
Interior Sumter the day after Gen. Anderson left, April 1861.
Members of the Marion Light Artillery cleaning a gun in one of the batteries on Coles Island, South Carolina, 1861.
Mills House Hotel, Charleston, Feb. 1863.
Morris Island Battery, April 1863.
Mount Pleasant, Charleston, S.C., 1861.
Plantation no. 7, Rockville Plantation negro church, Charleston, S.C., Jany. 31, 1863.
Plantation no. 12, Rockville Plantation, near Charleston, SC., Jan. 1863.
Plantation workshops in Charleston, S.C., between 1860 and 1863.
Planter’s house near Rockville, 1863.
Planter’s summer residence, between 1860 and 1863.
Southern artillery militia, Charleston, between 1861 and 1865.
Sumter after bombardment, 1861.
Sumter parapet with a dismounted gun, between 1861 and 1863.
Sumter, the day after its capture, between 1861 and 1863.
The an interior view of Fort Moultrie in Charleston harbor after the first bombardment by the Confederates. Confederate soldiers are gathered on the parapet with artillery, April 1861.
The exterior walls of Fort Sumter damaged by Confederate bombardment. Four men stand near a boat in the foreground, 1861.
The promenade along the Battery in Charleston Harbor, 1861.
All photos by Library of Congress.