Full-length studio portrait albumen CDV. Gettysburg, PA: Tyson Brothers, [circa 1861-1862]. Photographer's imprint to mount verso. Pencil inscriptions to mount verso read: "Nobel Preston / 10 NY / CAV / FRIEND OF / TYSON FAMILY."

This exceptional full-length portrait captures Noble Delance Preston (identified on the mount as "Nobel Preston") in his uniform as a non-commissioned officer of the 10th New York Volunteer Cavalry. Preston is posed confidently beside a studio column, wearing a cavalry jacket adorned with prominent Commissary Sergeant chevrons, tall riding boots, a crimson sash, and his cavalry saber. The reverse of the mount bears the highly desirable Gettysburg imprint of the Tyson Brothers, who had a gallery located at the corner of York Street and Lincoln Square. 

The 10th New York Cavalry was organized in late 1861 and spent its first winter encampment, from December 1861 to March 1862, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, long before the town became synonymous with the war's greatest battle. It was during this period that Preston, serving as a sergeant and regimental commissary, had this portrait taken by the Tyson Brothers. Preston would go on to a legendary military career. On 11 June 1864, during the brutal fighting at Trevilian Station, Virginia, Preston voluntarily left his position in the rear to lead a desperate charge, during which he was severely wounded in the hip by a minie ball. For this act of supreme gallantry, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. He survived the war, eventually reaching the rank of captain, and later authored the definitive and highly regarded regimental history of the 10th New York Cavalry.

Finding an identified portrait of a Medal of Honor recipient is a major event for any collector. Finding one photographed by the Tyson Brothers in Gettysburg - capturing a soon-to-be hero during the quiet early days of the war in a town that would soon be defined by it - is an absolute master class in historical alignment. This is a rare chance to add a world-class carte to your collection. 

[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]

The image is in very good condition. The albumen surface exhibits a sharp, pleasing tonality with excellent contrast that clearly defines his facial features, his NCO chevrons, and his cavalry saber.