A remarkable and historically significant family archive of five (5) identified hard-plate photographs tracing the antebellum and wartime circles of Capt. George Frederick Glover (1835-1875) of the 43rd Alabama Infantry and the prominent Glover-Henley planting dynasty of Demopolis, Marengo County, Alabama. Each case retains an intact, 19th-century ink-inscribed paper provenance label affixed to the exterior reverse.

The lot includes: 

1. Captain George Frederick Glover in Confederate Officer's Uniform: Quarter plate ambrotype. Housed in a dark leatherette case, the reverse bears a 19th-century manuscript ink label reading, "George Frederick Glover." A commanding, seated three-quarter length studio portrait of Glover taken ca. 1861-1862. He sits attired in a tailored Confederate double-breasted officer's frock coat featuring two rows of seven buttons and a standing collar. Insignia visible on the collar and Austrian braid on the uniform cuffs indicate the rank of 2nd lieutenant. Glover's slouch hat rests on his knee as he faces the camera with an unyielding, direct gaze.

2. George Frederick Glover in Civilian Dress: Half plate ambrotype. A handsome, seated portrait of a younger Glover taken in the mid-to-late 1850s, impeccably attired in a dark tailored frock coat, dark silk neckcloth, and wide-lapel waistcoat, holding his light-colored broad-brimmed hat across his lap. Housed in a dark leatherette case. 

3. Diven Glover, Enslaved Woman of the Glover Household: Ninth plate ambrotype, housed in a wooden half case. Reverse retains an antique manuscript ink identification label reading, "Diven Glover." A dignified, seated portrait of an enslaved African American woman wearing a patterned plaid cotton work dress, a wide white pointed collar, and a gathered headwrap, seated with hands resting in her lap and staring directly into the camera lens with serene composure. Her given name, "Diven," directly references the maiden surname of George Frederick Glover's mother, Mary Ann (Diven) Glover, reflecting the naming conventions documented among enslaved individuals tied to immediate family estates. Acquired directly through Glover family descent, oral tradition corroborates her role within George Frederick's personal household.

4. John "Johnny" Henley and Albert Henley:  Sixth plate daguerreotype, housed in an embossed leather half case. Reverse retains a 19th-century ink label inscribed, "Johnny Henley and / Albert Henley (I think) / A.S.H." Seated portrait of the two young brothers — brothers to Glover's wife, Alice Henley — in light tunics. John Henley would later become the father of John C. Henley, the first Mayor of Birmingham, Alabama.

5. Sarah Alston Harwell (née Austin): Sixth plate daguerreotype, housed in an embossed leather half case. Reverse retains an antique manuscript label reading: "Sarah Alston Harwell." A seated portrait of the family matriarch (died 1864), grandmother of Alice Henley Glover through maternal lineage, shown seated in a dark silk gown and parted hair.

The Glover family stood among the wealthiest and most influential antebellum dynasties of the Alabama Black Belt. Patriarch Allen Glover (1770-1840) and his second wife, Mary Ann Diven, amassed immense fortunes in cotton, river transport, and real estate, partnering with federal Indian agent George Strother Gaines to operate the Choctaw trading post at Demopolis. Allen Glover developed the iconic Rosemont plantation in Marengo County and financed the construction of famed architectural landmarks including Bluff Hall and Thornhill. He enslaved nearly 150 people at Rosemont. 

George Frederick Glover was born to this immense wealth in 1835, inheriting significant property and enslaved persons, with his personal estate valued at over $200,000 in the 1860 Federal Census. In May 1861, Glover married Alice Henley and entered Confederate service, commissioning as a lieutenant in the 43rd Alabama Infantry. The regiment served under General Gracie's Brigade in the Western Theater, seeing grueling service at Perryville and Chickamauga before transferring to the Siege of Petersburg, where Glover attained the rank of captain before resigning due to disability in 1864.

Surviving hard-plate groupings that preserve both the Confederate planter and the identified enslaved individuals who lived alongside them represent perhaps the rarest and most historically consequential artifacts of both early southern planter culture and the Civil War. 

[Civil War, Confederate, CSA, 43rd Alabama, Alabama, Demopolis, Marengo County, Rosemont Plantation, Cotton, Black Belt, George Frederick Glover, Officer, Frock Coat, Ambrotype, Quarter Plate, Half Plate, Daguerreotype, Sixth Plate, Ninth Plate, African Americana, Black Americana, Enslaved Woman, Slave, Diven Glover, Nursemaid, Headwrap, Henley, Harwell, Plantation Archive, 1850s, 1860s]

Overall very good condition across all five images, with sharp focal definition and strong tonal contrast retained on both ambrotype surfaces and daguerreotype plates. Minor age-appropriate imperfections are present; the image of Glover in uniform displays only trivial chemical spotting and mottling that does not impact the subject. Diven Glover's portrait shows some wear, with scattered spotting and a hairline scratch noted directly to the sitter's right.