A beautifully preserved, mid-war carte-de-visite photograph album bound in deep brown pebbled leather with ornate, blind-stamped floral and geometric motifs. The spine features elegant gilded decorative accents and the word "Album" stamped in gold script within an oval frame. The volume is secured by its original, fully functional brass clasp.

The interior contains original windowed paper mats with gilded borders, housing a remarkable roster of twelve Union troopers. Multiple window backings explicitly display the prominent letterpress stamp of the iconic local studio: "From / Tyson Brothers, / Gettysburg, PA. / Negatives preserved. Copies furnished / at any time." The images are accompanied by typed and colored collector tracking labels inserted alongside the windows, identifying individual members of Company B, 21st Pennsylvania Cavalry.

This museum-grade photographic archive stands as an absolute pinnacle of localized Civil War history, offering an intact, company-level visual roster of twelve men who were recruited in Adams County, photographed on downtown Chambersburg Street, and subsequently deployed to defend their own fields and families during the Battle of Gettysburg. Organized in June 1863 under the urgent threat of General Robert E. Lee’s invasion of the North, the 21st Pennsylvania Cavalry (Six Months Service) was raised with a heavy contingency of local Adams County citizens. Company B, centered around Gettysburg, was commanded by Captain James Mickley.

As the Confederate vanguard pushed into Adams County, these newly mounted troopers were immediately thrust into service as scouts and advance pickets, performing critical reconnaissance directly around the borough. During the three-day battle itself, elements of the regiment operated under the command of the Army of the Potomac, performing high-stakes courier duty, scouting the flanks, and securing the rear areas under fire. Following the battle, the regiment was heavily engaged in clearing the field, guarding prisoners, and patrolling the borders of their scarred county.

The album contains a spectacular cross-section of this historic local company. Contents include:

1. Captain James Mickley: Full-length portrait of the company commander from the Gettysburg area who raised these hometown troopers in June 1863 and led them on vital scouting and advance picket duties directly around the borough to track Lee's invading army.

2. Sergeant Henry P. Bigham: Full-length armed portrait of a true Gettysburg native who enlisted on June 16, 1863, just two weeks before the battle erupted on his doorstep, surviving the intense six-month defense of his home county.

3. Sergeant Alexander B. Black: Standing full-length portrait of a sergeant recruited directly out of Adams County who served alongside his cousin, Private J.B. Black, highlighting the deep family and community ties of this local unit.

4. Private John W. McCleary: Full-length portrait of an Adams County trooper who enlisted on June 23, 1863, just one week before the battle, walking into the downtown Tyson studio to leave this likeness behind before riding out on scout duty.

5. Private George Schirer: Full-length portrait of a local Adams County volunteer who stepped forward for emergency cavalry service, patrolling the tense mountain passes and roads as the Confederate vanguard advanced on the town.

6. Private J. B. Black: Vignette bust portrait of Jeremiah B. Black, a member of a prominent Gettysburg-area family who spent his service scouting local gaps and protecting neighboring farms from Confederate foraging parties.

7. Private G. W. Scott: Seated three-quarter portrait of a proud Adams County volunteer. Scott's horse was famously killed or captured during the chaotic operations surrounding the Confederate occupation of the county, a common hazard for these green local troopers who were pushed to the absolute limit scouting the advance of Ewell's Confederate Corps.

8. Private D. C. Brinkerhoff: Bust portrait of David C. Brinkerhoff, a member of a historic Adams County agricultural family whose ancestral farm became a point of tactical significance during the cavalry fighting on the eastern outskirts of the battlefield.

9. Private O. W. Bosserman: Seated three-quarter portrait of an older Adams County volunteer whose mature appearance reflects the local farmers and businessmen who stepped forward specifically to protect their home county from devastation.

10. Private Rush Bingham: Rush was the brother of Sergeant Henry P. Bigham (spelled interchangeably as Bigham or Bingham in local period records). Born and raised right in Gettysburg, Rush enlisted alongside his brother in Company B on 16 June 1863.

11. Unidentified commissioned officer, likely a Lieutenant: The prime candidate based on visual clues is Second Lieutenant Henry C. Shryock, the company's 22-year-old junior lieutenant. Shyrock suddenly found himself leading cavalry patrols and managing critical courier lines through his home county, which must have been bewildering. 

12. Unidentified Sergeant: The top candidates from the official company roster are Sergeant William A. McIlhenny or Sergeant John T. McIlhenny. The McIlhennys were a prominent local family with deep roots near Hunterstown (just north of Gettysburg), where the 21st Pennsylvania Cavalry fought a sharp skirmish on 2 July 1863.

While any intact company-level Civil War album is highly desirable, a collection possessing an ironclad geographic connection to the Battle of Gettysburg represents the absolute holy grail for advanced photographic collectors. The historical weight of this volume is profoundly elevated by the realization that these men walked into the Tyson Brothers studio on the very eve of the conflict, leaving their images behind with local photographers before riding out onto the ridges surrounding the town to confront the Army of Northern Virginia. Intact, locally produced Gettysburg operational relics of this magnitude are extraordinarily scarce outside of institutional archives. It stands as an elite, centerpiece-caliber offering of 19th century historic photography. 

[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]

Fine to excellent overall. The leather binding is remarkably clean and structurally sound, with only expected surface rubbing along the corners and spine edges. The internal paper mats are stable. The individual albumen prints are in superb condition, boasting rich tonal range, excellent contrast, and deep sepia tones.