Walter S. Long Sketchbooks and Drawings

Collection

Identifier: NC1056

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Walter S. Long sketches are rendered in pencil, watercolor, pen and ink. There are about one hundred titled, dated and signed sketches depicting the artist's living quarters, also mining locations and the surrounding area in and around Eureka, Nevada and the southeastern section of the state. An index of sketches for each sketchbook follows below. All titles are taken from the sketches with indications of their content given in brackets.

Dates

1878-1880

Creator

Long, Walter S. (Walter Sully), 1842-1907 (Creator, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research. Materials must be used on-site; advance notice suggested.

Conditions Governing Use

Due to the value and fragile nature of the Walter S. Long sketchbooks and drawings, they have been scanned and withdrawn from public use. Permission to use the originals is granted only by the Special Collections Librarian. Color slides are available for viewing with numbers corresponding to the index of sketches (see Slides in UNRS-P2712 in Photo Archives).

Biographical Note

Little is known of the artist, although he is believed to be Walter S. Long, a Maryland born civil engineer who served as a major in the Civil War in command of the 96th U.S. Colored Infantry. His name appears on a map of the Battle of Antietam, 1862, as a topographic engineer. Walter Long's stay in Nevada appears to have been brief; he is not recorded in the 1875 Nevada Census nor does his name appear in any state directory from that period. Major Long was listed as a "member deceased" in the 1st Biennial Report of the Nevada Historical Society (1909). His sketchbooks and drawings date from 1878 to 1880.

Extent

2 Cubic Feet (4 volumes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

About 100 pencil, water color, and pen and ink sketches of Nevada scenes, titled, dated and signed. Sketches depict the artist's living quarters, also mining locations and the area in and around Eureka, Nevada and the southeastern section of Nevada. The three books were apparently a gift from the artist to Elizabeth C. Parker.

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by sketchbook.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchased from Dan Moore on May 14, 1970.

Related Materials

For those interested in viewing Long's drawings and learning more, in 1991 a book was published by the University of Nevada Press entitled Brushwork Diary: Watercolors of Early Nevada, which has additional text by Michael J. Broadhead and James C. McCormick (ISBN 0-87417-174-1). The book reproduces in color 64 of the drawings and includes additional biographical information about Long as well as commentary on the drawings. A copy is available in the Special Collections Department (call number ND 1837 .L66 A4 1991).