Seated three-quarter length albumen CDV. Hanover, PA: P. S. Weaver. [1863]. Verso bears the gallery backmark of P. S. Weaver and period pencil identification for "Lieut. H. N. Spencer / Co. F 7th Regt. O.V.I. / July 23rd 1863."

Harlow N. Spencer (1835–1912) served as an officer in the 7th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, one of the most celebrated and hard-fighting units of the Western Reserve. This portrait is of immense historical significance due to its date and location. Taken on 23 July 1863, in Hanover, Pennsylvania, it catches Spencer just weeks after the Battle of Gettysburg. The 7th Ohio arrived at Gettysburg on the morning of the second day and occupied a critical position on Culp's Hill, where they endured hours of intense combat and helped repel the final Confederate assaults on the Union right.

Spencer is depicted in a relaxed pose, wearing an officer’s sack coat with a smoking pipe in his hand and a slouch hat on his lap. More importantly, this image contains a "hidden gem" that justifies a "rare bird" moniker: a small white rooster pin is visible on his left breast. The 7th Ohio was famously nicknamed the "Rooster Regiment." According to regimental lore, during their first engagement at Carnifex Ferry, the men began crowing like roosters to signal their presence and intimidate the enemy. The nickname stuck, and many members of the unit adopted the rooster as the regimental symbol. Sutlers were happy to oblige the men with rooster swag, such as the pin seen on Spencer's coat. 

Finding a photograph of an identified 7th Ohio soldier taken specifically during the post-Gettysburg occupation of Pennsylvania is an extraordinary rarity. Having survived the "slaughter pen" of Culp's Hill, Spencer sat for this portrait in nearby Hanover while the Army of the Potomac was still transitioning from the battlefield. We are not aware of another example, making this potentially a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. 

[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]

Strong tonal quality and exceptional clarity. The details of the rooster pin and the corps badge are sharp and well-defined. The mount shows typical age-related toning, and the period identification on the reverse is clear.