Rare carte-de-visite (CDV) portrait of a young African American military servant, noted in period hand on the reverse as "Pet, N.Y. 7th Regt". The thus far unknown subject appears to be posed in a studio setting and sits on an army greatcoat while he grips what appears to be an angular bayonet with both hands. The "7th Regt" inscription on the verso refers to the 7th New York State Militia, an organization nicknamed the "Silk Stocking Regiment" due to the disproportionate number of its members who counted themselves among New York City's most elite citizens. Consistent with their reputation, several of its officers traveled to War with black servants in tow. "Pet", a derogatory and dehumanizing term by today's standards when used in a manner consistent with the inscription on the CDV, was an unfortunately common way to refer to both enslaved people and free people in servant roles during the nineteenth century. 

The verso also bears the backmark of photographer Edward Anthony's 501 Broadway headquarters, "from [a] photographic negative in Brady's National Portrait Gallery". In 1860 celebrated Civil War photographer Mathew Brady opened his fourth and last New York studio near Anthony at 785 Broadway. He named it the National Portrait Gallery and it was there in 1862 that Brady exhibited his stunning photographs of Antietam casualties, the moment that altered photojournalism forever and brought the horrors of war to the homefront. Anthony was a close friend and business associate of Brady and frequently produced photographs from his plates. Brady photographed the 7th New York State Militia at Camp Cameron in Washington, D.C. in 1861, and it is very possible that this young man also appears in one of those photos. Brady also produced many studio portraits of members of the 7th New York both before and after their 30-days' service in April and May of 1861; this photo was likely struck at that time. 

That the subject holds a bayonet is quite unusual. African Americans were rarely pictured with weapons of any kind until after the establishment of the United States Colored Troops during the latter half of the Civil War. Given when this photograph was likely made, it may well be Brady's first such image. We note that there is a name written on the back of the CDV in the same hand as the "Pet" notation - "Charles Bray". This may be the subject's name, but this is speculative based on available records. We also cannot locate a soldier with that name in the ranks of any of the 7th NYSM's three wartime deployments. However, there was a Charles Bray from New York City who served with the 69th Regiment, New York State Militia in 1861 during the same time the 7th NYSM was in Washington; there may be a connection there. More research may unlock the mystery. Regardless, the historic nature of this photograph cannot be understated: images of armed blacks are nearly nonexistent prior to 1863-1864. Accordingly, this is an extremely scarce and historic early African American photograph produced by two of the most famous photographers of the period. Both the mount and print remain in very fine condition. 




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