Panorama of the Seat of War: Bird's Eye View of Kentucky and Tennessee Showing Cairo and Part of the Southern States

New York, 1861. No Binding. Fine. 22 x 28 inches. Chromo-lithograph, superb original color; fine condition. Very rare, beautiful view of the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, primarily showing Tennessee and Kentucky - the western seat of the Civil War. Bachmann, one of most highly skilled graphic artists of the 19th century, employed a vantage point of remarkable height in this panorama. The work presents literally hundreds of square miles of territory, making it a unique hybrid of map and view. It was intended as a more accessible visual guide than a standard map to the probable theatres of the Civil War for viewers unfamiliar with the areas being represented. This view in particular is one of Bachmann's more complex works. The artist necessarily distorts the view, which is oriented to the southeast, so it can encompass great lengths of both the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. These can be followed from Cincinnati, Ohio to Helena, Arkansas; Cairo, Illinois appears in the foreground. The rivers frame the expanses of Kentucky and Tennessee in the middle distance. The view is detailed with cities, roads, steamships and railroads all depicted complete with trains on the tracks. Reps says of Bachmann, who emigrated from Germany in the 1840's, that he "brought with him fully developed artistic, lithographic, and printing skills for his earliest prints reveal a high level of competence and complete command of the lithographic medium." In these daring works, he certainly extended the range of the medium in unprecedented fashion. Bachmann also produced some of the finest 19th century views of New York, New Orleans, Boston, and other major American cities. Interestingly, Bachmann claims the view was "Drawn from Nature." In exactly what sense this was meant is hard to tell. However, the Civil War did see the first considerable use of balloons in mapmaking. Thus, it is possible that Bachmann personally engaged in this or that knowledge of such a practice inspired these views. Bachmann's Civil War views are described by Rumsey as "very rare" (no. 2657). They were separately published as individual sheets. Reps, J. W. Views and Viewmakers of Urban America, p. 160.