An Iowa Civil War soldier is portrayed in this albumen CDV, produced during the early-to-mid 1860s at the height of the conflict. The image is set within an elaborately printed oval vignette mount decorated with scrollwork, fleur-de-lis motifs, hanging tassels, and chain-link ornaments rendered in gilt-toned ink, a presentation style associated with patriotic portrait mounts popular during the war years. No photographer's imprint is visible on the reverse.

The subject is a young man with dark, side-parted hair and a direct, composed gaze. He wears a dark sack coat with a button-front placket, a wide white collar turned down over the lapels, and what appears to be a small red or orange pin or badge at the throat.

Iowa contributed more than 75,000 men to Union service across 47 infantry regiments, 9 cavalry regiments, and 4 artillery batteries, making portraits of Iowa soldiers among the more actively sought Civil War CDVs in the collecting market. The mount's ornate decorative border places production firmly within the 1862 to 1865 range. The reverse is blank with no photographer or studio identification.

From the collection of James Lee Soffer