A Cluster of Custers

[Mike Serpa]

George, Libby, Tom

 

[Pollaco]

Is it likely true that George Custer was the second most photographed person of that era?

 

[Reconstructed Rebel]

Tragedy awaits all three of them. It is a good thing we don't have the ability to see into the future.

 

[Pollaco]

Is it likely true that George Custer was the second most photographed person of that era?

I think Frederick Douglass had him beat but not by much.

 

[Mike Serpa]

Is it likely true that George Custer was the second most photographed person of that era?

I'm not sure. The internet says there are more than 160 photos of Douglass. This list of all the Custer photos says there are 158 of him.
I will post four photos of Custer that are not on the list. That makes 162 photos. I have a few more photos of Custer that I'm not sure are of him or are separate photos from a multi-lens camera. By my count both men have more than 160 photos. Douglass did live 40 years longer than Custer. It would be nice to find out for sure who has the most photos.

 

[chubachus]

I still think that Grant probably has both Custer and Douglass beat for the number of photos taken of him. No one has of yet completed an exhaustive scholarly survey of Grant photos (Keya Morgan at one point said he was working on one), but I made it to at least around 100 in this 2015-2018 thread: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/wa...aphed-more-times-than-ulysses-s-grant.119434/

 

[7thWisconsin]

Grant and Douglass lived long lives, distinguished and honored for decades. Authentic got 1861-1876, a bare 15 year stretch. Had he lived and been the glorious hero of the Sioux War, do you think his image count would exceed even Douglass'?

 

[Mike Serpa]

I tried twice in post #5 to make a link to the list of Custer photos. Don't know why it didn't show up.

List of photographs of George Armstrong Custer - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I believe new photos are found as time goes by. With those four new photos of Custer there are now 162 photos of him.

Here are four more photos of Custer.

Custer with Grand Duke Alexis and Buffalo Bill

This makes 166 photos of Custer.

I have three or four more.

 

[Mike Serpa]

I still think that Grant probably has both Custer and Douglass beat for the number of photos taken of him. No one has of yet completed an exhaustive scholarly survey of Grant photos (Keya Morgan at one point said he was working on one), but I made it to at least around 100 in this 2015-2018 thread: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/wa...aphed-more-times-than-ulysses-s-grant.119434/

I hope Morgan does it.

 

[chubachus]

I hope Morgan does it.

I haven't heard much of anything about his interest in Lincoln/Grant photos at least since his controversial involvement with Stan Lee (charges were eventually dismissed). His site where I read about his interest in doing IIRC a Grant photo book went down years ago unfortunately.

 

[chubachus]

Historian James Bultema recently gave a lecture on Grant photos and featured some images that I think are new to me:

I have yet to watch it fully yet, so maybe he gives some numbers of how many Grant photos might be out there.

 

[Stryker65]

Seeing Custer without facial hair (and missing half his eyebrows in that one pic) is frankly quite jarring.

 

[7thWisconsin]

Seeing Custer without facial hair (and missing half his eyebrows in that one pic) is frankly quite jarring.

He was a geeky-lookin' youngster, wasn't he?

 

[35th MA InfRegt]

I still think that Grant probably has both Custer and Douglass beat for the number of photos taken of him. No one has of yet completed an exhaustive scholarly survey of Grant photos (Keya Morgan at one point said he was working on one), but I made it to at least around 100 in this 2015-2018 thread: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/wa...aphed-more-times-than-ulysses-s-grant.119434/

According to this site, there are over three hundred known distinct photographs of Grant.

Ulysses S. Grant: A Photographic History

Ulysses S. Grant: A Photographic History [James Bultema, Frank J. Williams and John F. Marszalek]. The most photographed American of the nineteenth century As Grant battled relentlessly down the Tennessee River and across Tennessee, defending

www.bibliovault.org

 

[Mike Serpa]

I haven't heard much of anything about his interest in Lincoln/Grant photos at least since his controversial involvement with Stan Lee (charges were eventually dismissed). His site where I read about his interest in doing IIRC a Grant photo book went down years ago unfortunately.

Yeah, that was a weird situtiaton.

 

[Mike Serpa]

According to this site, there are over three hundred known distinct photographs of Grant.

Ulysses S. Grant: A Photographic History

Ulysses S. Grant: A Photographic History [James Bultema, Frank J. Williams and John F. Marszalek]. The most photographed American of the nineteenth century As Grant battled relentlessly down the Tennessee River and across Tennessee, defending

www.bibliovault.org

That book is by the same man in the link posted by @chubachus in #11 above. 307 photos beats Custer and Douglass by miles.

 

[DoctorKingSchultz]

I'm not sure. The internet says there are more than 160 photos of Douglass. This list of all the Custer photos says there are 158 of him.
I will post four photos of Custer that are not on the list. That makes 162 photos. I have a few more photos of Custer that I'm not sure are of him or are separate photos from a multi-lens camera. By my count both men have more than 160 photos. Douglass did live 40 years longer than Custer. It would be nice to find out for sure who has the most photos.

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How does Lincoln compare? To my understanding Lincoln had around 130-140 photographs. Yes, I have plenty, no I cannot be bothered to put half of them in this post

 

[chubachus]

That book is by the same man in the link posted by @chubachus in #11 above. 307 photos beats Custer and Douglass by miles.

Finally some confirmation!!! Apparently, the book is not yet out yet because of years of legal troubles that he mentions in his lecture.

 

[chubachus]

One thing I really would like to know though is if Bultema counts each stereoscopic pair of two photos of Grant as one or two photos, lol!

 

[chubachus]

New Official List of Most Photographed Men of the 19th Century

Ulysses S. Grant: 307
George Armstrong Custer: ~166
Frederick Douglass: ~160
Abraham Lincoln: ~130