Pair of CDV-sized tintypes, one depicts three subjects in apparent campaign regalia. The reverse of mount is inscribed in ink "This picture was taken the fall of 1868, the first election of Gen. Grant. Henry Cumstock. Will Dunbar. Griswold -." The second tintype is a bust portrait inscribed in pencil "Pa Cumstock."

Like today, American elections in the mid-19th century were competitive and candidates/causes were promoted by enthusiastic supporters who would seek to garner support wherever they could find it. Societies and clubs like the "Wide Awakes" were formed during this time, full of strident young men who expressed their political support through parades and grassroot canvassing. The Wide Awakes were almost a paramilitary wing of the newly formed Republican party in the 1860 election, often marching throughout cities and towns in support of Abraham Lincoln. Known for carrying lit torches while wearing capes and rubberized hats, the highly-organized Wide Awakes appealed to a generation which had only known political upheaval.

Though it's currently unknown if the three young men in the tintype were affiliated with the Wide Awakes, the mount's inscription makes clear they had their portrait taken to commemorate their support of General Grant in the 1868 Presidential election. It's possible the seated subject on the viewer's left is wearing a gem-sized ferrotype badge of General Grant on his cap.

[Politics, Presidents, Vice Presidents, Signatures, Letters, Manuscripts, Documents, Ephemera, Civil War, Union, Confederate, Reconstruction] [Civil War, Union, Confederate, Politics, Reconstruction, Radical Republicans, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Historic Photography, Early Photography, Albumens, CDV, Carte de Visite, Cabinet Card, Tintypes]