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This mid-1860s CDV caught my eye for a couple reasons. Firstly, the amazing hand tinting of the woman produced a vibrantly colored scarlet dress. Next, the image comes from “Brady’s National Portrait Gallery” and includes a canceled 2-cent tax stamp (proprietary series) on the verso. Mathew Brady is best known for making portraits of celebrities and documenting the American Civil War. Cameras attributed to his studios are highly coveted by collectors - unfortunately I don't have a Brady camera.

However, this CDV includes a paste-on label covering part of the Brady stamp with the description: “Specialiste. Selby & McCauley Photograph Album & Carte de Visite Depot”. It seems that Selby & McCauley added their label to CDVs of famous people taken by firms such as; Israel & Co., E. & H.T. Anthony, Brady’s galleries, and others. Examples of CDVs with Selby & McCauley labels include Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses Grant, and numerous civil war officers such as Major General Gouverneur K. Warren, General Edward Ferrero, Gen. Samuel Crawford and others.

Could it be that the woman in this picture was someone notable?