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ORIGINAL ca. 1850 US ARMY CAVALRY BARRACK
FURNISHINGS BLUE PRINTS – 2 FULL SIZED SHEETS – RACKS
FOR ARMS, UNIFORMS AND EQUIPMENT: This is an
original 2 sheet set of US Army Blue Prints for the
construction of the interior furnishings for Cavalry
Barracks, and the arms, uniforms and equipment depicted
in the schematics are all those which were in service in
the US Army during the mid-to-late 1850’s. Submitted to
the 36th US Congress (in session from March
of 1859 through March of 1861) probably as part of the
annual budget request, this set of blue prints may very
well be a unique surviving set, or at the very least may
be the only set to exist outside the permanent
Congressional record held in the National Archives.
The two sheets, measuring 26” by 20” are titled “CAVALRY
BARRACKS – FURNITURE FOR THE QUARTERS, PLATE 38” AND
“CAVALRY BARRACKS – FURNITURE OF THE COMPANY QUARTERS”.
As can be seen in the photographs below, these sheets
illustrate the racks and cupboards which held the
soldiers’ arms, uniforms, hats and helmets, uniforms,
boots and horse equipment, as well as several views of
the arrangement of this equipment around and over the
soldiers’ individual bunks. While the original printing
of these types of documents was sufficient to provide at
least one facsimile to each member of the House of
Representatives, the Senate, their staffs, as well as
army personnel and possibly civilian contractors, once
the subject matter was no longer of interest or was
outdated, there was no reason to maintain them on file.
Disposed of as surplus paper or trash, the survival rate
is obviously very low.
All of the printing is clear and legible and with the
exception of minor foxing due to age, the sheets are
clean and free of stains. In an attempt to provide
adequate photographs of the various diagrams, different
lighting was necessary and the variance in color and
clarity seen in the photos is not present on the blue
prints, rather they have the standard ivory document
coloring that is consistent throughout. Both sheets are
complete, however due to being folded for some time in
storage; both sheets have separations along a few of the
creases. There is no loss of the paper, all of the
separations have clean edges and when framed, these
separations would not show.
Documents from the antebellum years of the US Army have
never been common, and it is nothing shy of remarkable
that these blue prints survived the passage of time not
only intact, but as a matched pair. Depicting the
Cavalry Barracks of those early years, this unique and
very rare set would be a centerpiece to display with
arms and equipment of the period, whether it was in a
museum or a private collection. $325
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