Quarter plate tintype depicting a large multi-generational family group posed outdoors, centered on an adult male soldier and a blond boy wearing a military-style uniform. The soldier stands among civilian family members, with women and children arranged in seated and standing rows, suggesting a formal family portrait made outside rather than in a studio. The image is a tintype on iron, presented within a decorative brass mat, consistent with mid-19th-century photographic practice.
The soldier wears a dark coat and vest with a formal bearing, while the blond boy’s uniformed attire visually echoes military association within the family. Clothing throughout the group reflects mid-century American dress, with women in patterned and plain dresses and men in jackets and waistcoats. The outdoor setting, with indistinct natural foliage in the background, reinforces the informal yet deliberate composition often seen in family portraits made during or shortly after periods of military service.
The tintype is housed in its original period brass mat, with clipped corners and floral and geometric ornamentation framing the image. No case is present. Some bends. No photographer’s imprint or identifying text is visible on the image or mat.
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