Lost (stolen), found and sold: 48 portraits from Herb Peck's prized collection, plundered in 1978 Nashville burglary, have new homes after auction

Florida soldier with carbine; siblings with 3rd Tennessee (Fleischer's Auctions)

Forty-eight photographs, mostly of young Southern men toting rifles, Bowie knives, revolvers and fierce gazes, sold for $259,000 (excluding buyer’s premium) at a weekend auction, pleasing the widow and son of an esteemed collector who curated the images before they were stolen in 1978.

The family of Herb Peck Jr. enlisted the help of law enforcement, other collectors and Military Images magazine in their hunt for 117 images taken during a burglary at their Nashville home.

Peck  began collecting in the 1950s ahead of the Civil War centennial, amassing one of the “premier collections of Civil War portrait photography at a time when the genre’s importance was only first being realized,” said Fleischer’s Auctions.

Peck died at age 67 in 2004 before any of the photographs were recovered. One was located in 2006, 39 were seized during a 2020 raid and eight more were returned in the past year.

Herb Peck Jr. with some of his photos in the 1970s. (Fleischer's Auctions)

Fleischer’s Auctions said representatives of the family attended the three-hour Saturday sale in Columbus, Ohio.

“It’s been an emotional process for everyone involved,” the company said in an email to The Civil War Picket.

Adam Fleischer, in a social media post after the sale, said high interest in the photographs reflected Peck’s eye for quality. “The Peck family's decision to share Herb’s captivating images with the public, following decades of uncertainty, resonated deeply with collectors and history enthusiasts alike.”

The top seller Saturday was lot 45, entitled “Confederate with Colt Revolving Rifle.” It went for $32,200 with the buyer’s premium. The subject wears an outdated cap topped by a havelock and holds a Model 1855 Colt revolving rifle. It’s possible he was from Virginia, according to Fleischer’s.

“This is a masterpiece of Southern photography and I chose it for the cover (left) that featured the story about Herb's collection,” Ronald S. Coddington, editor and publisher of Military Images, told the Picket. (Fleischer’s Auctions is an advertiser with the magazine)

Behind that was lot 34, entitled “Masterful Character Study,” which realized $24,300 with the buyer’s premium. The portrait depicts James and Calvin Walker of the 3^rd Tennessee Infantry. Calvin was killed in action in Georgia in 1864, with an eyewitness noting that nothing was left of his head after he was hit by artillery shrapnel but “"...[a] chin and rather long whiskers.”

Images going for high prices included a Tennessee infantryman, Florida soldier with carbine and a Confederate private armed with a Model 1842 musket, Bowie knife, and pair of large Colt Navy revolvers.

Coddington said he found lot 28, a photograph of a Confederate first sergeant, to be particularly compelling (right, courtesy Fleischer's Auctions).

He cites “the focal clarity of the image, the look of the soldier, the way he holds his saber and the unusual paper mat that was likely used as a substitute for brass mats that were unavailable in the South due to the blockade and loss of territory.”

Ahead of the sale, Fleischer’s Auctions said the collection was once thought lost forever.

Coddington, in a Military Images article about Peck, said photographs from the collection were published in “The Civil War” by Ken Burns and in more than 50 books, magazines and articles, including Time-Life’s “The Civil War” series, the “Confederate Faces” series and “Civil War Times.”

Burglars hit the Peck home in September 1978, making away with 117 images, cameras and more than a dozen weapons.

Law enforcement agencies in Tennessee and the FBI worked on the case as several photographs appeared for sale on online sites. The FBI office in Indianapolis netted one image in 2006.

Peck’s son asked Military Images to revive the case in 2016 and he created a poster showing many of the photographs. The FBI and police in Ethridge, Tenn., recovered 39 images in an October 2020 raid. Eight more turned up later. (Southern musicians with fife and drum, left)

About 70 photographs are still to be recovered, according to Coddington. The publisher says the family is committed to their return. “Due to the active nature of the investigation and concerns from the family about jeopardizing the investigation, this is all I am able to state at this time.”

Saturday’s auction must have brought some satisfaction to Peck’s family.

Peck’s widow, Felicity, previously told Military Images: “I remember how distressed the collectors were at the time of the burglary. It has always been a comfort to me that others care about the importance of these images as historical, visible and tangible evidence of this country.”