Poignant Civil War–era carte de visite by famed Southern photographer A.D. Lytle of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, featuring a striking vignette bust portrait of a young soldier identified in pencil beneath the image as Edward Donaldson. The reverse bears A.D. Lytle's distinctive oval studio imprint and period pencil notations speculating about the sitter’s identity and connection to other men photographed at Baton Rouge during the war.

Donaldson wears a dark shell jacket with a cloth collar tab and a prominent decorative clasp at the throat—typical of Confederate uniforms from the Trans-Mississippi and Western theaters. His youth, defiant stare, and the photographic context suggest he may have served in a Louisiana regiment.

Lytle was one of the few Southern photographers to remain active during the war, capturing some of the only known Confederate-occupied views of Baton Rouge and Port Hudson. His work is scarce and highly sought-after for its artistic quality and documentary value.