A young Iowa soldier identified as Sherwin is the subject of this Civil War-era CDV, produced in the distinctive ornate oval vignette style popular during the 1860s. The photograph is printed within an elaborately engraved decorative border printed directly on the card stock, featuring scrollwork, suspended tassels, and a pendant frame design that frames the bust portrait as though hung on a wall. The carte de visite dates to 1867 per the inscription on the reverse.

The subject wears a dark military frock coat with a high standing collar fastened with a row of small visible buttons at the chest and neck. His expression is direct and composed, his dark hair worn short at the crown with longer side growth, and his lean face carries a serious, forward gaze typical of formal military portraiture of the period.

Iowa furnished over 76,000 men to the Union cause during the Civil War, and by 1867 many veterans were still being photographed in uniform or retaining military dress as a mark of service and identity in their communities.

The reverse bears a pencil inscription reading "Sherwin" with the numerals "1867." No photographer's imprint is visible on the mount.

From the collection of James Lee Soffer