A handsome, matching pair of original albumen cartes-de-visite documenting two separate Union soldiers posed in the exact same studio setting. Both men are captured in three-quarter seated sittings on identical wooden chairs, resting an arm on a table draped in a large, bold American flag. Atop the flag on each table sits a forage cap prominently displaying crossed cannons branch insignia with a brass number 1 nestled above the tubes on one and the company letter 'F' below on both.

The uniform details explicitly point to the federal light artillery service, anchored by the crossed cannons cap insignia and the brass numeral 1 designating enlistment in a 1st Regiment. Of critical diagnostic note are the distinct metal star badges pinned to the breasts of both troopers' fatigue blouses. Both soldiers wear four-button fatigue blouses adorned with a metal star corps badge pin on the breast, paired with light-colored trousers. The front mounts are bordered by matching, classic double-line rules, and the reverses of both cards are entirely blank.

This exceptional pair represents a fantastic study in mid-war material culture and photographic studio operations, captured by an uncredited but highly skilled regional gallery. Because both men share identical geometric-patterned flooring, the same wooden chair, and the exact same prop arrangement, down to the specific fold lines of the draped stars-and-stripes and the placement of the insignia-facing forage caps, this lot stands as a definitive same-day or same-unit studio sequence.

[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]

Very fine. Both albumen prints exhibit superb visual clarity, rich tonal depth and a beautifully uniform sepia patina. The cartes are structurally sound, square and untrimmed showing only the most nominal, uniform light age-toning and trivial handling wear along the borders.