Sachse, Edward (E. Sachse and Co.)

Edward Sachse (June 11, 1804 - May 20, 1873) was a German American artist, lithographer, and publisher. Born in Görlitz, Germany, Sachse operated a small lithographic firm and publishing house in Germany before immigrating to the United States in 1848. He settled in Baltimore, where he worked for E. Weber and Company briefly before opening his own firm, E. Sachse and Company, around 1850. Sachse was an early adopter of chromolithography, producing magnificent chromolithographs as early as 1855. During the 1850s, 1860s, and early 1870s, Sachse developed a reputation as the main lithographer of the Maryland - Washington D.C. area. One of his most recognizable accomplishments was the role he played in documenting the construction of the U.S. Capitol, along with other major building projects in Washington. He also created a massive twelve-sheet aerial view of Baltimore (which took three years and several artists to produce) and a four-sheet view of Syracuse. During the American Civil War, Sachse produced a series of lithographs of military campsites, hospitals, and barracks in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Sachse sold these views at the bargain price of 25 cents to soldiers as souvenirs and often created multiple views of the same encampment when new regiments moved in, and the scenery, fortifications, and tents changed. Soldiers bought the prints and often mailed them home, sometimes with notes marking their specific tent. Sachse had a close working relationship with Charles Magnus (1826 - 1900), who published and sold many of Sachse's works. Sachse's firm also published advertising posters, book illustrations, labels, and business cards. Sachse died in Baltimore in 1873.