Half plate tintype portrait. Full thermoplastic case.  

Impressive tintype of two Union soldiers seated on opposite sides of a small photographer's table. The soldier on the left holds two most unusual items: a tin drum canteen and a sizable bowie-style knife. While impossible to tell for sure, these items are rarely seen in Union images and may represent battlefield pickups or other plunder - or just studio props. The soldier on the right, clad in the typical Yankee frock coat, seems content to let his pard hog the spotlight.

This is a very interesting image as it causes the viewer to consider what the real story might have been - and for that reason, it ranks among the more compelling examples of Civil War soldier photography. Perhaps the new caretaker can crack the code. 

[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]