Ten of Stars, Civil War Union Playing Card (Type Two), 1863 brush Plates measure 7 3/4" in

Plates measure 7 3/4" in diameter x 7/8" tall

ink drawing

--and also for the crustiness of the surface now

" a nod I believe to Descarte's classic work of the same title

with a bit of a homely face

Ten of Stars, Civil War Union Playing Card (Type Two), 1863 brush Plates measure 7 3/4" inI've been thinking a lot about American history especially of late. I am currently in the middle of Ken Burns' series The American Revolution, which has had me better understanding how much the revolutionary period was as much a series of civil wars in this country as it was a war against England, and also about how inevitable The Civil War itself seems in retrospect, with tensions over slavery, and between regions, there from the very beginning.