Civil war photography expert visits Bennett

Posted Tuesday, April 10, 2007

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Bennett, NC - Bob Zeller, a leading expert on Civil War photography, was a guest speaker at Bennett School on Wednesday morning, March 7. During the slide presentation for seventh and eighth graders, Zeller narrated a chronological history of the war using seventy-nine 3-D stereograph images. The audience wore 3-D glasses to get the full effect of the images.

Zeller wove historical aspects of photography into the presentation including references to Mathew Brady and his fellow era photographers. He explained how the majority of Civil War photographs were taken and viewed in 3-D. He also noted that photography was invented a mere twenty-one years before the Civil War.

Among the images in the show were those of Ft. Sumter, President Abraham Lincoln; city scenes from New York, Atlanta, Washington, DC, and Richmond; regiments; Union officer George Custer; General Grant; General Sherman; the ironclad Monitor and other ships; Antietam and Gettysburg battlefields; a field hospital; and camp life.

Zeller is president of the non-profit Center for Civil War Photography. He is the author of several books on Civil War photography, frequently lectures, and is one of the leading private collectors of original Civil War photography. Images from his collection have been featured at the Smithsonian Institute. Zeller has presented 3-D slide shows at museums across the country. In addition to his Civil War interests, Zeller is a regular contributor to Car and Driver magazine and is a motorsports writer specializing in NASCAR stock car racing.

The visit at Bennett was made possible by Mr. and Mrs. Tam de St. Aubin, who bid on Zeller's presentation at a benefit to raise funds for High Point University. The de St. Aubins then graciously offered the history students of Sizemore the opportunity to host Zeller's Civil War photography presentation.