Adolphe Jean Baptiste Bayot
The War between the United States and Mexico Illustrated, Embracing Pictorial Drawings of All the Principal Conflicts, by Carl Nebel, Author of “A Picturesque and Archaeological Voyage in Mexico,” with a Description of Each Battle, by Geo. Wilkins Kendall, Author of “The Texan Santa Fé Expedition,” etc., etc.

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The War between the United States and Mexico Illustrated, Embracing Pictorial Drawings of All the Principal Conflicts, by Carl Nebel, Author of “A Picturesque and Archaeological Voyage in Mexico,” with a Description of Each Battle, by Geo. Wilkins Kendall, Author of “The Texan Santa Fé Expedition,” etc., etc.
ArtistFrench, born Germany, 1821–1880
PublisherNew York, founded 1831
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • The War between the United States and Mexico Illustrated, Embracing Pictorial Drawings of All the Principal Conflicts, by Carl Nebel, Author of “A Picturesque and Archaeological Voyage in Mexico,” with a Description of Each Battle, by Geo. Wilkins Kendall, Author of “The Texan Santa Fé Expedition,” etc., etc.
Date1851
MediumBook with 12 hand-colored lithographs and one lithograph
DimensionsClosed: 23 × 18 1/8 × 1 1/2 in. (58.4 × 46 × 3.8 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, museum purchase funded by John Bookout and Wallace S. Wilson in honor of Ann Bookout and Jeanie Kilroy Wilson at "One Great Night in November, 2015"
Object numberB.2015.13.1-.13.B
Non exposé

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Department
Bayou Bend
DescriptionPublished in 1851, this book is a firsthand report, in both words and images, of the first offensive war fought by the United States. It contains a brief history of the war, written by George Wilkins Kendall, the editor of the New Orleans Picayune newspaper and the first true wartime correspondent, who engaged with soldiers on the battlefield and corresponded back to his newspaper. While Kendall accurately discussed the war by successive events, the book also includes 12 hand-colored lithographs of the scenes and a lithographic map of the region. Kendall asked the German artist Carl Nebel to draw images to accompany his text that portray the 12 major clashes of the war. In Kendall’s preface, he notes that the drawings were made “on the spot by the artist…So far as regards the general configuration of the ground, fidelity of the landscape, and correctness of the works and buildings.” However, unlike Kendall, Nebel was not there at the specific time of the battles but reviewed the various places after the war. The watercolor drawings Nebel produced were subsequently transferred to lithographic plates and printed in Paris, the great center for the lithographic technique at that time.
ProvenanceJ. Dudley Thompson (1925–2010), Santa Barbara, California; Estate of J. Dudley Thompson; consigned to [Dorothy Sloan—Rare Books, Austin, Texas, auction 24, The Mexican-American War Collection of J. Dudley Thompson]; purchased by MFAH, 2015.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Inscribed in graphite, front page spread, top right corner: 81.048

Inscribed in graphite, front page spread, top left corner: 12 colored pieces / [cursive]

Inscribed in graphite, back page spread, top right corner: RLM 77

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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Genl. Scott’s Entrance into Mexico
Adolphe Jean Baptiste Bayot
1851
Lithograph with watercolor and gum arabic on wove paper
B.2015.13.12
Storming of Chapultepec Quitman’s Attack
Adolphe Jean Baptiste Bayot
1851
Lithograph with watercolor and gum arabic on wove paper
B.2015.13.11
Storming of Chapultepec Pillow’s Attack
Adolphe Jean Baptiste Bayot
1851
Lithograph with watercolor and gum arabic on wove paper
B.2015.13.10
Molina del Rey Attack upon the Casa Mata
Adolphe Jean Baptiste Bayot
1851
Lithograph with watercolor and gum arabic on wove paper
B.2015.13.9
Battle of Churubusco
Adolphe Jean Baptiste Bayot
1851
Lithograph with watercolor and gum arabic on wove paper
B.2015.13.7
Molina del Rey Attack upon the Molina
Adolphe Jean Baptiste Bayot
1851
Lithograph with watercolor and gum arabic on wove paper
B.2015.13.8
Battle of Cerro Gordo
Adolphe Jean Baptiste Bayot
1851
Lithograph with watercolor and gum arabic on wove paper
B.2015.13.5
Assault of Contreras
Adolphe Jean Baptiste Bayot
1851
Lithograph with watercolor and gum arabic on wove paper
B.2015.13.6
Battle of Buena Vista
Adolphe Jean Baptiste Bayot
1851
Lithograph with watercolor and gum arabic on wove paper
B.2015.13.3
Bombardment of Vera Cruz
Adolphe Jean Baptiste Bayot
1851
Lithograph with watercolor and gum arabic on wove paper
B.2015.13.4
Battle of Palo Alto
Adolphe Jean Baptiste Bayot
1851
Lithograph with watercolor and gum arabic on wove paper
B.2015.13.1