George Simins, identified in a penciled inscription on the reverse as an Iowa Civil War soldier, is portrayed in this albumen CDV dating to the 1860s. The vignette format and albumen print process place the image firmly within the carte-de-visite conventions of the war years, and the plain reverse carries no photographer's imprint.

Simins wears a single-breasted military sack coat with a closely spaced row of small buttons running from collar to waist, a dark stand-up collar, and what appears to be a corps or unit badge pinned at the left breast. His dark hair is parted and swept to the side, his gaze is directed slightly upward, and his expression is composed and direct.

Iowa contributed more than 75,000 men to the Union cause across numerous infantry, cavalry, and artillery regiments, and soldier CDVs from the state rank among the most actively collected Civil War photographic material. The plain reverse and absence of a studio imprint suggest this may have been produced at a field or itinerant gallery.

The penciled inscription on the reverse reads "George Simins."

From the collection of James Lee Soffer