Tintype Ambrotype Bearded Man Half Case Portrait Tinted Civil War 1860s

This is a small piece of the Civil War years: a cased portrait of a bearded gentleman with side-parted hair and a dark coat, made when families kept the likeness of a husband, father or soldier in a hinged keepsake case. Cased photographs like this came out of studios across America in the late 1850s and 1860s, and collectors prize them for the faces, the period clothing and the craftsmanship of the cases. They are also a natural fit for a shelf or shadow-box display of early photography.

Details

• Key facts: bust portrait of an unidentified man in a dark coat; stamped gilt brass mat with floral corners and a scalloped opening; red velvet pad; the back of the case is embossed with a scroll and diamond-lattice pattern; light red hand tinting to the cheek.
• This is the case half with the portrait.
• The lid is not included.

Condition: The hinged lid is missing, leaving only the hinge remnant on this half. The plate surface is dusty with fine scratches, the red tint on the cheek is smeared, and the velvet pad shows wear - see photos.

The photos are part of the description, and it will be packed with care in a rigid box.