Hand-tinted and gilt sixth plate studio tintype. Full leatherette case.

A compelling sixth plate-sized tintype of a bearded Yankee infantryman displaying a photograph for the camera. The soldier sits next to a small table with his Hardee hat displayed. The image has been hand-gilt and tinted with an expert hand, delicately coloring his cheeks and enhancing the insignia on his hat. Notably, he holds up a photograph, displaying it to the camera.

Commonly referred to by collectors as “picture in picture” images, likenesses of soldiers holding someone else’s photograph emphasizes the importance of photography in the 19th century. In this case, the subject of his picture appears to be a woman- potentially a wife, a sweetheart, or a mother. Soldiers constantly implored their loved ones to send their portraits to them as a way to stave off homesickness; soldiers would in turn have photos like these made to demonstrate their thanks.

This genre of Civil War photography is inherently more personal than the typical portrait and a reminder that soldiers, often very young men, were just ordinary people who deeply missed their loved ones while away at war. It is unknown whether this particular soldier made it back to the woman in his photograph.

[Civil War, Union, Confederate, Early Photography, Historic Photography, Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes, Tintypes, Cased Images, Union Cases, Uniforms, Insignia, Hats, Headgear]