Fresh-to-the-Market Confederate Portrait Attributed to Richmond, Virginia (Circle of Charles R. Rees)

Sixth plate tintype studio portrait of a seated Confederate cavalryman. [Richmond, Virginia?]: [Charles R. Rees?], ca 1861–1862. Half case. Ornate, embossed brass preserver and scalloped "double diamond" scrollwork mat.

The soldier is captured in a confident, seated pose wearing a classic gray/butternut wool mounted services overcoat featuring an attached elbow-length cape, worn open over a tight-fitting double-breasted cavalry shell jacket or vest with dual rows of gilt-highlighted buttons. He wears a dark, low-crowned forage cap / kepi, and a small bow tie at his collar. The image exhibits fine, restrained contemporary hand-applied gold leaf or gilt paint accenting the rows of uniform buttons across both the cape, lapels, and jacket front. This is the consummate portrait of a Virginia horse solider. 

The lighting, delicate tonal modulation, and refined vignette portraiture strongly suggest the work of Charles R. Rees & Co. of Richmond, one of the premier photographic studios in the Confederate capital tasked with immortalizing newly arriving Virginia cavalry volunteers early in the conflict. The image may also be the work of another contemporary Richmond studio.

Emerging fresh to the market after being rescued from a California swap meet, portraits of Virginia cavaliers wearing their distinctive mounted cape-overcoat are scarce and exceedingly desirable.

[Civil War, Confederate, CSA, Confederate States of America, Confederate Cavalry, Virginia Cavalry, Charles R. Rees, Richmond Virginia, Confederate Uniform, Overcoat, Kepi, Peninsula Campaign, Army of Northern Virginia, Fresh to Market, Southern History] [Photography, Early Photography, Historic Photography, Cased Images, Tintype, Ferrotype, Sixth-Plate, Confederate Portraiture, Military Photography]

Very good. The plate displays strong focal clarity, rich deep contrast, and excellent detail in the soldier's features, facial hair, and woven wool texture. Minimal surface wear and light edge haloing consistent with age, safely secured beneath an uncleaned period mat and preserver.