Carte-de-visite of an unidentified young man with a canteen and holding a valise

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A carte-de-visite with an albumen print depicting an unidentified young man or teenaged boy wearing civilian and military clothing in front of a camp scene backdrop. He wears a kepi, a dark vest buttoned over a high-necked white shirt, a light colored roundabout jacket, and light colored baggy trousers. A canteen is slung across his chest and he holds a valise in his left hand. A pocket watch can be seen on his left chest on top of his vest, and another metal pin is attached at his proper right breast onto his vest. The painted studio backdrop behind him depicts a military camp scene with tents, soldiers by a cannon, and a U.S. flag flying from a tall pole. The print is mounted on off-white cardboard. Written at the reverse top edge in graphite is the name "Ben".

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