A remarkably comprehensive life-cycle grouping of 6 period CDVs documenting the wartime service of a single officer, Henry Powell Ramsdell, from 1861-1864. This specialized lot features a variety of sittings, including "from life" portraits by Mathew Brady and regional Newburgh, NY galleries, alongside period copies of earlier sittings. Such groupings were a cornerstone of the Rick Carlile collection, emphasizing the evolution of a soldier during the conflict.

A native of Newburgh, Ramsdell enlisted as a teenager and rose through the ranks to become a First Lieutenant and Acting Adjutant. He was a central figure in the regiment’s history, participating in their most grueling campaigns. Ramsdell was severely wounded in action during the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863, an injury that eventually led to his discharge for disability in 1864. Following the war, he became a prominent industrialist and paper manufacturer in the Hudson Valley.

This lot includes: 

• Field Study (Top Left): Ramsdell is depicted in a rugged field setting, wearing a slouch hat and a dark shell jacket with a shoulder belt. He is seated before a tent backdrop and a draped American flag, looking very much the part of a soldier in the field. This appears to be a copy of an earlier hard image brought home from the front, reproduced locally by Whiddit & Coffin.

• Camp Portrait (Top Center): A similar sitting to the first, Ramsdell is shown without his hat, wearing a dark vest and jacket. He is seated on a camp stool in front of a tent backdrop, again a copy of an earlier hard image (possibly by Whiddit & Coffin in the same transaction.) 

• Brady Profile (Top Right): A high-quality vignetted profile portrait by the studio of Mathew Brady. Ramsdell is shown in his officer’s frock coat, showcasing the superior clarity and artistic lighting for which the Brady gallery was famous.

• Early War Portrait (Bottom Left): It shows a younger, clean-shaven Ramsdell at the very start of his military journey, with superior tone and clarity. This is a top-shelf carte. 

• Three-Quarter Commander Study (Bottom Center): A formal from life sitting by Whiddit & Coffin. Ramsdell stands in his First Lieutenant’s frock coat with his hand tucked into his jacket in a classic Napoleonic pose.

• The Adjutant’s Portrait (Bottom Right): A formal full-length study showing Ramsdell in his complete officer’s uniform, including his frock coat and light-colored trousers. He leans against a studio balustrade, representing his final rank and status before his disability discharge.

Ramsdell was an integral part of the young, educated officer class that led the "Orange Blossoms" through the "whirlpool" of the Wheatfield and the slaughter at Chancellorsville. His survival and subsequent business made him a significant post-war figure in New York state. This grouping represents an excellent opportunity for further study of a fascinating soldier turned industrialist. 

[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, Stereographs] [Civil War, Union, Confederate]

Tonal quality remains strong across the grouping, with the Brady and Whiddit & Coffin prints showing excellent clarity. Mounts are generally well-preserved with typical age-related toning.