Conservation of Alexander Galt Diary

Alexander Galt was an American sculptor born in Norfolk, Va. in 1827. He spent time studying in Italy from 1849-1853. He received important commissions in the United States and returned to Italy in 1856, coming back to Virginia in 1860. The outbreak of the Civil War saw him working for the Confederate army and doing a few private commissions. He drew a small pencil sketch of Thomas Jonathan (“Stonewall”) Jackson in December of 1862 which is his last known work. Galt contracted smallpox and died in January 1863.

The sketch was drawn in a small diary he kept. This diary, held by Swem Library’s Special Collections, is currently undergoing conservation. The individual pages have been conserved and the diary will now be rebound. The conservator spent 50 hours working to clean and mend the pages.