A large-format outdoor albumen photograph print, ca. June 1863. Professionally presented in a modern gallery-style mat and a dark, custom-carved wooden frame. The reverse of the frame retains a clear, descriptive modern historical documentation label detailing the unit assignment, location, photographer attribution, and key identified personnel.

A spectacular, museum-grade Civil War unit view capturing Company H of the 44th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry assembled in a magnificent field portrait. The wide-angle composition showcases dozens of officers, non-commissioned officers, musicians, and privates relaxed yet alert on the grass of their encampment ground under a solitary shade tree. In the left foreground, a company drummer sits cross-legged beside his brass-rimmed tension drum. Arrayed across the center are the company's line officers, highlighted by Second Lieutenant Albert Richards Howe seated directly to the left of the unit’s pride: a large, fringed company guide flag or presentation marker boldly displaying a central emblem. The enlisted men stand or recline in distinct battle-readiness, cradling their long infantry rifle-muskets.

Captured at Camp Meigs in Readville, Massachusetts, in June 1863, this view documents the regiment just as they were preparing to muster out of service following an arduous nine-month campaign in North Carolina. The artist, J.W. Black, was one of the most innovative and celebrated photographic pioneers of the 19th century - famed internationally for capturing America’s earliest successful aerial photographs from a hot-air balloon over Boston in 1860. When commissioned to document the state’s elite volunteer regiments at Camp Meigs, Black utilized his masterly understanding of chemical plates and lighting to produce outdoor group studies showcasing an artistic depth, sharpness, and narrative complexity rarely achieved by standard camp photographers.

The accompanying research unlocks the identities of several key figures within the composition:

1. Captain William V. Smith, seated center as the commanding authority of Company H.

2. Second Lieutenant Albert Richards Howe, seated prominently to the left of the company flag.

3. Sergeant Gedney K. Richardson, positioned at the extreme left next to the company drummer.

4. Private Everett Cephas Bumpus, standing third from the left in the rear rank.

Large-format, sharp-contrast volunteer company portraits by elite metropolitan masters like J.W. Black are scarce. This is a top shelf example of the genre. 

Very good. The image retains exceptional contrast and clarity, with minor localized foxing near the extreme edges. The modern matting and frame are in fine, stable condition, cleanly preserving the print for exhibition.