Snapshots of the Past

Position at offhand rifle practice – Historic Reproduction

Position at offhand rifle practice, 1848 — antique lithograph
Position at offhand rifle practice, 1848. Antique lithograph from the Historic Print Archive collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

This rare antique lithograph captures Position at offhand rifle practice in remarkable detail. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.

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Position at offhand rifle practice

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Ask about licensing or this print

Standing without a rest, the rifleman in this plate illustrates the offhand position, and the lithograph served as the front plate of John Chapman's *Instructions to Young Marksmen*, published in New York in 1848. The figure was drawn from a daguerreotype by Plumbe, so the pose originates in an early photograph, which G. & W. Endicott then translated into a printed image. Offhand shooting, firing from the feet without support, was a core skill in rifle training of the period, and the plate shows how new photographic methods were being adapted for instructional books.

Created / published1848
Medium1 print : lithograph.
NotesLithograph by G. & W. Endicott, parsons del., after daguerreotype by Plumbe. Illus. in: John Chapman, Instructions to Young Marksmen..., New York, 1848, front plate. No ref. copy. This record contains unverified data from caption card. Caption card tracings: Rifles; Military training; Publ. Ind.; Ph. Ind.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan891 × 1,536 px · prints to 3 × 5 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-149903

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