A bearded Union soldier stands at full length in this albumen CDV, made by photographer Opperman at Wolff's Gallery, No. 10 Royal Street, Alexandria, Virginia, a studio operating during the Civil War era when Alexandria served as a major Union-occupied city and military hub. The revenue stamp affixed to the verso is a two-cent U.S. Internal Revenue proprietary stamp, required on photographs between 1864 and 1866, placing this image firmly within that narrow wartime window.

The subject wears a dark frock coat with horizontal sleeve trim consistent with Union enlisted or non-commissioned dress, layered over a closely buttoned vest with a long double row of small buttons, and light-colored trousers. His left hand rests on a studio pedestal beside a painted column prop, his gaze directed upward and slightly off-camera, giving the portrait a composed, deliberate character.

Alexandria, Virginia was occupied by Federal forces from May 1861 and became one of the most heavily photographed Union garrison towns of the war, making this a regionally significant wartime studio record. The reverse imprint reads "Wolff's Gallery, No. 10, Royal Street, Alexandria, Va., Opperman, Photographer," with the standard reorder notice printed below.

From the collection of James Lee Soffer