Ink wash and pencil drawing on paper entitled "The Mysterious Pond", by William Ludlow Sheppard, a Richmond, Virginia native. Sheppard first came to prominence as an illustrator for tobacco products; besides illustrations, he was known as a painter and sculptor. His many drawings made as an enlisted man in the Civil War provide an intimate glimpse of the Southern soldier's life. Notations on the margin of this drawing suggest it may have been made for publicatione. The image shows an older African American man with a grey beard standing up to his knees in a pond. Crowding the banks is a group of men and boys, mostly white, with an older white man pointing his finger and addressing the man in the pond. The words "The Black Pond" were erased from the lower right corner but are still legible, though there may have been more to the phrase. Signed in ink lower left with the artist's initials. Professionally framed. Frame, approx. 14 1/2" x 11 1/8". The drawing itself is on a sheet that measures approx. 9" x 5 1/4".