Quarter plate hand-gilt ambrotype. Leatherette case. Anonymous artist. New York [?].

Portrait of a pair of bearded men, possibly brothers, one of whom has his arm around the other. The apparently less affectionate of the pair sits with his arms folded across his chest. The two militiamen seem quite relaxed as they recline in their chairs, while a faithful hound snoozes comfortably at their feet. The men wear identical light-colored uniforms featuring bright white buff leather accoutrements with matching epaulette fringe and pants; one of the only distinctions between the two are the corporal’s chevrons worn by the sitter to the viewer’s right.

The subjects’ state of affiliation appears to be New York. Both the hat badges (containing the regimental number “7”) and brass plates at the intersection of their chest straps are consistent with uniforms worn by antebellum and early Civil War units organized in the Empire State. A more specific clue may be found on their unique belt buckles which appear to contain text, most likely their company name.

An impressive image that exhibits Herb Peck’s eye for quality. It is exceedingly rare for military portraits of the period to feature a dog.






[Daguerreotype, Ambrotype, Tintype, Carte-de-visite, CDV, Albumen, Mexican War, Mexican American War, Civil War, Slavery, Abolitionist, Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, Early Photography]

Provenance: Herb Peck assembled one of the first and greatest collections of historic American photography before it was stolen in 1978 from his Nashville home. Once thought lost forever, authorities recently traced an unexpected clue and discovered many of Herb’s images unscathed after nearly 45 years in hiding. These daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and tintypes comprise one of the most important collections of Civil War portrait photography ever curated. Herb Peck was a true pioneer who understood both the historic and artistic merit of portraits showing the common Civil War soldier at a time when they were often overlooked. These photographs are deeply important to our shared American history, and Fleischer's Auctions is proud to make them publicly available on behalf of the Peck family.

As represented. For a full condition report, please email us.