Accordion-style album containing approximately one hundred gem tintypes, each set within printed oval paper mats. The images depict young male cadets, most shown individually and a few in paired portraits, wearing dark military-style uniforms with high collars, buttons, and caps consistent with mid-19th-century cadet or academy attire. The tintypes are gem format ferrotypes, likely produced in the late 1860s based on clothing and presentation.

The interior of the album includes a handwritten inscription dated December 25, 1868, suggesting the album was assembled or gifted at that time. No individual sitters are identified, and no institutional name is printed or otherwise visible within the album. The consistent uniformity of dress and photographic format indicates a single group or academy photographed over a relatively short period.

The album is housed in its original hinged case with paper pages designed for gem tintypes, several openings now vacant. The handwritten note appears on an interior page, with no photographer’s imprint visible. The album survives as a cohesive period compilation documenting a group of unidentified cadets in the immediate post–Civil War era.