A poignant specialized grouping of 5 period albumen CDVs documenting Union soldiers posed with their wives or companions. [ca. 1861-5]. This lot highlights the domestic ties that motivated the men in the ranks, featuring regional backmarks from Boston, Albany and Des Moines. These portraits offer a geographically diverse look at the wartime family unit and include highly significant identifications related to the Western Theater.

This lot contains 5 CDVs. Specifically, it includes: 

1. Officer and Wife (Top Left): A formal standing study by J.W. Black of Boston. The officer wears an overcoat with a velvet collar, draped over his frock coat, while his companion is seated in an elaborate winter wrap. This high-status sitting by one of Boston’s premier photographers captures the refined domesticity of the New England officer class.

2. Lt. David Rogers and Julia Porter (Top Right): An identified study of an officer from Co. A, 83rd Pennsylvania. The 83rd was one of the most hard-fighting regiments in the Army of the Potomac, and this portrait documents the personal life of a veteran from a unit that saw action at Gettysburg and the Overland Campaign.

3. Armed Sergeant and Companion (Bottom Left): A full-length study by J. H. Abbott of Albany, New York. The sergeant is shown in a frock coat with prominent chevrons, resting his hand on his saber. He stands beside a woman in a tiered day dress, providing a quintessential "departure" image from the state's capital.

4. Color Sergeant and Companion (Bottom Center): A standing study of a color sergeant and and his female companion, who rests a hand on his shoulder. 

5. Col. Samuel Allen Rice and Wife (Bottom Right): A historically significant portrait by J. P. Sharman of Des Moines, Iowa. Rice was the commander of the 33rd Iowa Infantry and later a brigadier general. He led his troops through the Yazoo Pass and the Battle of Helena before being mortally wounded at the Battle of Jenkins' Ferry, Arkansas, in 1864. This image is a rare documented likeness of a high-ranking Western Theater casualty.

These images document the evolution of wartime fashion and studio conventions across different theaters of the war. From the refined Boston aesthetics of the J.W. Black studio to the starker, field-adjacent style of the Iowa sitting, the lot provides a rich survey of 1860s civilian and military dress. 

[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [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]

Tonal quality remains generally strong, with the Boston and Iowa sittings showing particularly sharp contrast. Mounts show typical age-related toning.