trading cards
Faces of the Invalid Corps Cards
The cards are back from the printer and they look amazing. For those of you who participated in our Kickstarter Fundraiser. One of our rewards at the $50 and up level was: FACES OF THE INVALID CORPS. CDVs or cartes-de-visite were popular for soldiers to carry and send home – Images for their loved ones. To emulate that, we researched and created 8 “trading cards”, each with an image of an individual soldier from the Invalid Corps or pivotal participant in the Battle of Fort Stevens. It is a great looking set of cards with information and stories about the men – their units, their disability, what they did, and what happened to them after the war. The cards are 2.25 inches wide by 3.5 inches tall, the size of bridge cards and made of 300gsm professional quality card stock with a blue core (smooth finish).
Card Designs, Copyright, and Private Investigators
The final designs for the “Faces of the Invalid Corps” cards just went out and we will receive the first physical set of cards in about two weeks. I cannot wait to actually hold them in my hands. Shortly after that we anticipate sending out surveys to mail the Kickstarter rewards.
Now for the bad news. Sadly, we are behind schedule on the film itself. We’ve just passed the one year anniversary of the Invalid Corps film Kickstarter. Our team had hoped to complete the project by this time, however, many personal challenges, including a new job for me, have made that impossible. But we are moving forward.
There is a wonderful book called, “Gone for a Soldier: The Civil War Memoir of Private Alfred Bellard.” What is unique about his story is that it follows his journey into battle, to being injured, to joining the Invalid Corps, and even includes the actions of his regiment at the Battle of Fort Stevens. The book has fallen out of print and the rights reverted to the family.
Even after several discussions with the publisher, we were having difficulty in finding them. You can read sections of the book and see illustrations from Bellard’s diary and letters all over the internet but when we inquired further, although many cite the source as the Alec Thomas Archives, we could not find anyone who had the rights to use the material. This is where a friend and supporter of the film who happens to be a private investigator donated time over several weeks to hunt down the rights owners and their descendants. (Yes, we here on the Invalid Corps team will stop at nothing to give you the best documentary possible…even using a P.I.) 😉
This resulted in me having a wonderful chat with Roseanne who is thrilled to find so much interest in her family’s legacy. I am excited to share with you that we will be using some of Alfred Bellard’s story, quotes, and illustrations in the documentary.
Stay tuned!