Ten (10) CDVs of important Union and Confederate military and political figures and one (1) stereoview. Views include:

1. Three-quarter length seated albumen CDV studio portrait of General Ulysses S. Grant. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Photographic Co., ca. 1865. Photographer's imprint to verso.

An iconic view of Grant (1822 - 1885), with his 3-star general's shoulder boards clearly visible. Modern pencil inscription to verso reads: "1865 photo by Wendsworth & / Taylor - see / photo p. 118 Neely's Last / Best Hope of Earth".

2. Half length seated albumen CDV studio portrait of Robert E. Lee. New York: E. & H. T. Anthony, ca. 1850. Publisher's imprint to verso, along with period ink identification. 

This pre-war portrait of the future Confederate general, Robert E. Lee (1807 - 1870), evidences extensive period enhancement. Perhaps the most jarring difference between this altered version and the original is the addition of Lee's military uniform, including a double-breasted frock coat, a pair of elaborate epaulettes, and a "VA" hat by his side. The unmodified photograph is believed to have been struck shortly after the Mexican-American War, a conflict in which Lee served with distinction, and this is echoed by his period-appropriate uniform.

3. Full length albumen CDV studio portrait of Sydney Smith Lee, Samuel Francis Dupont, and David Dixon Porter. New York: Charles D. Fredricks & Co., ca. 1860. Photographer's imprint to verso.

In another pre-Civil War example, this view captures a trio of uniformed Unites States naval officers who would see themselves divided by the war. David D. Porter (1813 - 1891) and Samuel F. Dupont (1803 - 1865), the sitter at center and stander to the right of the frame respectively, would go on to receive positions as an admiral and rear admiral in the U.S.N., while the remaining subject, Sydney Smith Lee (1802 - 1869), would join his younger brother, Robert E. Lee, in resigning his commission for a position in the Confederacy. This photograph was likely taken circa 1860, when the 3 men would act as escorts for the Japanese delegation. 

4. CDV of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston. New York: E. & H. T. Anthony. Publisher's imprint to verso.

A view of Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston (1807 - 1891) in uniform, complete with triple bullion stars to his collar. With modern pencil identification to verso.

5. Half length seated albumen CDV studio portrait of Gen. George Meade. New York: E. & H. T. Anthony. Publisher's imprint to verso.

With his 2-star major general's straps prominently displayed, this is a fine wartime portrait of Meade (1815 - 1872).

6. Outdoor stereoview of Capt. John A. Bake of the 7th N.Y. Militia leaning against a tree. Washington, D.C.: Brady, 1861. 

An exceedingly scarce stereoview. A CDV version of the photograph is held by the Library of Congress, attributed to Brady at Camp Cameron. While the stereoview is unmarked, the subject is identified to the CDV as John A. Bake (alt. Blake) of the 7th New York Militia. Bake wears the shoulder straps of a captain, with a knotted m1850 officer's sword at his side and a sash across his chest. The tree upon which he leans appears to have been carved with a "W" at the soldier's eye level.

7. Three-quarter length standing albumen CDV studio portrait of Gen. Q. A. Gillmore. 

Here Major General Quincy Adams Gillmore (1825 - 1888) strikes a confident pose, with one hand at the hilt of an m1860 officer's sword at his waist and the other holding an unpinned Hardee hat. Several of his uniform's components, including an officer's m1851 belt plate, a dangling officer's sash, and a pair of brigadier general's shoulder boards, are visible.

8. Half length seated albumen CDV studio portrait of "Commodore James S. Palmer USN" (Misatttributed view of Henry Haywood Bell).

A postwar portrait of U.S.N. Rear Admiral Henry H. Bell. Though Bell would be advanced to the rank of commodore during the war, he wears here the shoulder boards of a rear admiral, a rank which he would not see promotion to until 1866. 

9. Half length seated albumen CDV studio portrait of Judah P. Benjamin. New York: E. Anthony. Publisher's imprint to verso. 

Judah P. Benjamin (1811 - 1884), seen here wearing his characteristic grin, was the first practicing Jewish member of the United States Senate. He would go on to hold several positions in the Confederate Cabinet, including Secretary of State, Secretary of War and Attorney General; he is identified by a pencil inscription to the verso as the "CSA Sec'y of Treasury," though he is never known to have held this position.

10. Shoulder length vignetted oval albumen CDV portrait of Robert M. T. Hunter. New York: J. Gurney & Son, n.d. Brady negative. Publisher's imprint to verso, along with a cancelled orange 2 cent revenue stamp.

This view of Confederate Secretary of State Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter (1809 - 1887) has undergone period artistic enhancement. With modern pencil inscription to verso: "Robert M. T. Hunter - C.S. / Sec'y of State / July 25, 1862 - / February 1, 1862 / (from a Brady photograph)".

11. Three-quarter length standing albumen CDV studio portrait of Stephen R. Mallory. 

A portrait of Confederate Secretary of the Navy and Florida Senator, Stephen Russell Mallory (1812 - 1873), holding closed a book against a clothed table. 

[Photography, Early Photography, Historic Photography, Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes, Tintypes, Cased Images, Union Cases, Albumen Photographs, CDVs, Carte de Visites, Cartes de Visite, Carte-de-visite, Cartes-de-visite, CDV, Cabinet Cards, Stereoviews, Stereocards] [Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Jewish History, Judaica] [Politics, Politicians]