Huge full plate tintype photograph of Antonio “Anthony” Silver, who was a 42-year-old whaler from Harwich, Massachusetts when he enlisted as a substitute in the Union Army in late 1863. Silver, an immigrant from the Azores Islands (Portugal) who also spelled his name “Antone Sylver,” fell in with Co. A of the 58th Massachusetts Infantry, a hard-fighting Army of the Potomac unit that saw extensive service during Grant’s 1864 Overland Campaign. Silver was wounded twice during his service, including a severe wound sustained at the Wilderness. Silver recovered, but was discharged for disability. He returned to civilian life and continued working in the whaling trade, as did most of his fellow immigrants from the Azores. He married, had two children, was active in the G.A.R., and died in 1901. 

The large size of this tintype offers a remarkable perspective into an 1860’s photography studio rarely seen in a period image. Silver, outfitted in a nicely tinted frock coat and issue trousers, holds his musket by his side. At least three of the artist’s props - a high-top table, a smaller table or bench, and a posing stand appear to his right. The base of another posing stand can be seen behind his feet. The wide-plank lumber floor is bare, and shows wear from the constant stream of subjects who went to get their picture made. 

The image is neatly inscribed “Anthony Silver” under the subject, and at one point was likely in a similar oval frame.  We wonder whether it was actually made for the man who paid to hire Silver as his substitute. It is almost unheard of to find a true first-generation Civil War soldier image of this size.







[Antique Photography, Daguerreotype, Ambrotype, Albumen, carte-de-visite, CDV, Tintype] [Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Civil War, Union, Confederate, Ulysses S. Grant, US Grant, Phillip Sheridan, Robert E. Lee, Abraham Lincoln]