Reference to a photograph of Tumblety in the National Police Gazette

[rjpalmer]

I went searching for these alleged 'photographs' seven or eight years ago; the appropriate issue of the NPG is not known to be extant, and is not included in any of the standard microfilm collections of the NPG, which include very few issues from the 1860s.

After a very tedious search, I finally traced the issue in question to a rather obscure collection on the east coast, but when I made contact, they claimed they didn't have it, even though it was unmistakably listed as being among their holdings.

I always felt there was more to the story than what I was told by the rather surly archivist; document thieves are everywhere, and I suspect it somehow ended up in someone's private collection.

[Hunter]

Just my 2 cents. The uniform is not standard Union issue, but many officers- i.e.- Custer, did have their own non-issue uniforms made at their own expense. During the early years of the war many militia units on both sides had distinct uniforms as well... indeed at First Bull Run some Union troops wore gray and some Confederates blue.

This uniform bears no rank insignia... which would be rare.

If this photo has detail, perhaps the saber belt's buckle could give a clue.

[mklhawley]

The sword looks very similar to a 19th century French cavalry sword. My US Navy officer sword is based upon this particular sword.

sincerely,

Mike

[Archaic]

Thanks Dr. John.

This photo looks later than Civil War-era to me, and personally I see no particular resemblance to Tumblety. Also, Tumblety would have been a much younger man during early 1860's.

I agree with you that the uniform doesn't seem grandiose enough for Dr T's tastes. Much too drab.

Best regards,
Archaic

[Dr. John Watson]

Thanks for the pictures, Dr. John.

I'm curious about the uniform the man in the photo is wearing. It's not an American uniform; it looks European, possibly Austrian or German. Does anyone recognize it?

By the way, I believe he is holding a pair of gloves in his hand.

Thanks and best regards,
Archaic

Yes, I thought the same about the uniform. You recall that in the recently discovered photo of a younger Tumblety, he appears dressed in German or Austrian military garb. Although not the same uniform as worn by the supposed Tumblety, I can see some facial resemblance between the two men. In the photo I submitted, it's his left hand which appears to be holding the kepi. He's wearing some type of nondescript outer blouse coat, but the fancy embroidered collar of his shirt is just visible. Since he was never really in the Union army during the civil war, he could have been arrested if found wearing an authentic Union uniform. Thus, the uniform he was described as wearing was likely made up of foreign military wear he probably purchased himself for the purpose. However, if this is Tumblety in the photo, I would have thought he'd have picked a little fancier uniform in which to pose!

[Archaic]

Thanks for the pictures, Dr. John.

I'm curious about the uniform the man in the photo is wearing. It's not an American uniform; it looks European, possibly Austrian or German. Does anyone recognize it?

By the way, I believe he is holding a pair of gloves in his hand.

Thanks and best regards,
Archaic

[Dr. John Watson]

Here is a period photograph of someone identified as "Dr. Tumblety" dressed in military garb and holding what may be a kepi, provenance unknown. Next to it is a well-known engraving of Tumblety in a cap resembling a Civil War kepi which may be similar to the illustration in the Police Gazette.

[Chris Scott]

Thanks Dr. W
Much appreciated

[Dr. John Watson]

The article "How an Irishman Became an Indian Doctor" reportedly appeared in the National Police Gazette in January-March of 1861. As I recall, the editor of the Gazette knew Tumblety well. I'm trying to track down the first three issues of 1861 now, all of which are supposed to be available on film. I'll keep you posted.

[Wolf Vanderlinden]

Just a couple of points.

The National Police Gazette was profusely illustrated but not with photographs. They used drawings and engravings, some of a high quality, but no photographs from this period (the Civil War).

Second there are at least two illustrations of Tumblety that were published in other papers that show him wearing a cap that might be called a kepi. Likely one of these was originally used by the NPG and would, therefor, be known to us.


Wolf.

[Chris Scott]

Hi Dave
many thanks for all your efforts
The original press article only says that the piece about Tumblety had been published "during the war" and I do not know if any of the other researchers who have posted to this thread have succeeded in narrowing down the date of publication within that 1861-65 period
Good luck
Chris

[Dave O]

Hi Chris,

That hit on ProQuest is a phantom I think, I searched for a fake title and got the same result as searching for the title of the article we're looking for. It turns out that my local university library has it on microfilm. I don't think I will have any luck where Stewart and Tim Riordan haven't, but the librarian thought that their holdings might cover that range. I will have go have a look, but it will be Friday before I can.

Dave

[mklhawley]

I can't agree with the interpretation of this article to be that Dr T had a capacity for violence. To me it says the exact opposite, that when a situation arose that Dr T thought needed violence to solve it, he skulked in the background and hired other people to do it for him.

This perfectly equates with his character as being a charlatan show off who made sure that he was never in any form of danger himself.

Of course I could be wrong.

I still stand by my take on the issue. Have you ever hired a person to do harm? That's a big step.

Mike

[Chris Scott]

Hi guys
Many thanks for all the very helpful feedback
It seems, then, that this a well trodden path and, like so many others in this subject, leads nowhere.
Oh well, it was a nice thought:-)
Thanks again
Chris S

[Chris]

The url I posted in my last post lets a non member do a search but not, of course, access the article.
Frustratingly this returned a positive result for the title quoted in the article I posted in my first post:

That's interesting - from the page I saw I didn't realise it had been digitised. In that case I think what you want is ProQuest American Periodicals Series Online:
http://www.proquest.com/en-US/catalo...tail/aps.shtml

They offer a free trial, but unfortunately only for institutions, so it's likely to involve going through a reference/academic library, but I should think someone on Casebook will have access to this.