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Civil War or Spanish American War Era Photo ID Help

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Photographs3736 of 5188early 1900s post mortem post cardFashion History
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    Posted 11 years ago

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    bonus_vir_…
    (1 item)

    I am military- and photograph-confused and have read some very impressive research on this board from scottvez and many others. I need help with the identification of this soldier. It's a cabinet card taken in Kansas so I am guessing it's probably from the Spanish American War era instead of Civil War.
    I've looked at hundreds of photos and can't identify the head gear insignia or the uniform. Also, is that just a watch fob on the vest or could it be a medal?

    Any help would be appreciated.

    Mystery Solved

    Comments

    1. scottvez scottvez, 11 years ago
      I don't believe he is a soldier.

      The sword and hat insignia look to be fraternal.

      The headgear is of a style that is typical of the very late 19th century (military and civilian) as is the busy backdrop at different depths.

      Format of the photograph is also a significant factor in determining the age. Additional photos of the entire image and any photographer's information would be usefull.

      scott
    2. bonus_vir_semper_tiro, 11 years ago
      scottvez, thanks so much for your response and observations. I never would have considered the possibility of being fraternal, another area I am unfamiliar. I posted the full cabinet card and back showing the photography studio(s). I couldn't find a thing on Huff & Thompson or Harting & Clarke.
      Again, a guess, but did American Portrait take over the studios and continued to use the Huff mounts? If so, would this be considered a reprint? Sorry for so many questions and thank you again.
    3. scottvez scottvez, 11 years ago
      Glad to help out!

      A typical cabinet card of this style would be 1880s- 1890s.

      This particular example is probably more toward the tail end of that time period. I would think that the stamped portion does represent a studio that bought another's mounts after they had closed the business.

      It looks like a from life shot and not a copy image.

      scott
    4. blunderbuss2 blunderbuss2, 11 years ago
      I'm no expert, but there were military musicians dress swords & this looks like one to me from memory & the shoulder ranks also look military.
    5. bonus_vir_semper_tiro, 11 years ago
      Goodness, just lost my comment. Thanks scottvez. This is the closest I could find and theyhad no idea:
      http://www.ebay.com/itm/CABINET-CARD-FOREIGN-SOLDIER-OR-FRATERNAL-UNIFORM-/380453753967?pt=Art_Photo_Images&hash=item5894cf946f&nma=true&si=Qgu%2BCws363wPb%2Fh4NRl%2F8i8wUt8%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

      blunderbuss2, thanks for the idea since anything helps at this point. I will continue to look. The collar and bow tie(?) on my photo is throwing me off so I posted an enhanced closeup since it doesn't look military to me.

      Here's another photo that states its fraternal but do they really know.
      http://www.remainstobeseen.com/index-i-2563-category-Cabinet-Card.htm

      Thanks again.
    6. scottvez scottvez, 11 years ago
      Yes bonus-- both of those linked images are fraternal as well.

      scott

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