This exceptional, historically significant CDV features a stellar example of early-war military portraiture paired with one of the most revered studio backmarks in the history of American photography. Capturing a double- armed Union line officer posed against an elaborate field camp painted backdrop, this portrait was produced by the legendary African American pioneer photographer and abolitionist James Presley Ball.

This full-length standing studio portrait albumen CDV was taken in Cincinnati, Ohio, by J. P. Ball's Photographic Gallery, which was located at No. 30 West 4th St., between Main and Walnut Streets ca. 1861–1862. Ball captured this confident Union lieutenant or captain standing at ease, leaning his left hand on a simple wooden studio chair while his right hand rests firmly on the basket hilt of his foot officer's sword. He is meticulously outfitted for the field in a double-breasted officer's frock coat with prominent shoulder straps, dark trousers, and a cocked slouch hat. A heavy-framed revolver is tucked behind his belt, likely to appear more warlike to the recipient. 

Ball (1825–1904) was a true vanguard of the nineteenth-century photo trade. As a free Black artist operating in Cincinnati - a bustling border city and hotbed of the abolitionist movement - Ball established one of the most successful and aesthetically advanced galleries in the entire United States, frequently photographing prominent anti-slavery leaders like Frederick Douglass alongside the region's white elite. Following the outbreak of the Civil War, Ball's studio became a vital enlistment hub, capturing the young officers and volunteers mobilizing for the Western Theater campaigns. This carte is a superlative example of Ball's work. 

[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] [African Americana, African American History, Black History]

The print and mount are in very good condition, with sharp corners and solid tones. There are typical age spots to the reverse, consistent with age and normal handling.