Bust-length studio portrait. Sixteenth plate tintype. Full thermoplastic case with foliate & floral motif. 

Raised in early 1864 primarily from recruits across Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic, the 30th United States Colored Infantry was thrown directly into the Civil War's eastern theater. As part of Ferrero's Division of the IX Corps, the regiment fought gallantly at the bloody Battle of the Crater during the Siege of Petersburg, before being reassigned to the North Carolina expedition, where they participated in the capture of Fort Fisher and Wilmington.

The subject, who has been tentatively identified as Private Anthony Bradley, of whom little is currently known, is captured in a striking bust-length studio portrait, wearing a standard federal fatigue blouse and a forage cap, his direct and determined gaze fully commanding the lens. First-generation, wartime portraits of documented African American enlistees from specific, hard-fighting combat units like the 30th USCT are among the best of the best of early American photographic collecting, making this example an artifact of institutional significance.

[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] [USCT, United States  Colored Troops, Glory, 54th Massachusetts, Buffalo Soldiers, Black Soldiers] 

Very good, with remarkable clarity, tone, and contrast. The plate itself remains free of significant wear.