Cartes de Visite of soldier, ca 1862. The three chevrons on the sleeve suggest he is a sergeant. Color would have told which field he was in. Printed on back: “O.H. Willard, Cartes de Visite, 1628 Market Street, No. 14370, Phila.” Photo restored.

Cartes de Visite of unknown man (soldier?), ca 1862. No information on the back. Photo cropped and heavily restored.

Carte de visite unknown Union Soldier, ca 1863, restored copy? Back printed: “A. Marquis, Jr., Photographic Artist. Wisconsin Street. Negative Preserved” with 2-cent Washington stamp. [A carte de visite from Oshkosh Public Museum lists it as being from “A. Marquis, Jr., Photographer, 96 Wisconsin St., Milwaukee.”]

Carte de visite of framed portrait of bearded man with romantic hair, velvet collared frock coat, collared vest, and bowtie, ca 1863. Stamp originally on the back has been removed.

Ambrotype of young man in herringbone vested suit wearing a Civil War badge, ca 1866. No additional information.

Carte de visite of Edward, Amy, & Ida Pearson, dated March 26, 1866. Names from Ebay seller. Printed on back: “G. Thorn’s Photographic Gallery, Over the  Bank, Plainfield, N.J. Negatives preserved six months.”

In Abraham Lincoln’s pockets when he died, he carried:

• a pocket knife
• a linen handkerchief
• a sleeve button
• a fancy watchfob
• two pairs of spectacles
• a tiny pencil
• a leather wallet
• nine old newspaper clippings
• a Confederate $5 bill

[from http://www.armchairgeneral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15309]

In John Wilkes Booth’s pockets when he died, he carried:

• a compass
• a candle
• carte de visites of five women, including his fiancée Lucy Hale
• his diary where he had written about Lincoln’s death.

[from http://boingboing.net/2010/12/25/did-john-wilkes-boot.html]

Photo of Lucy Hale from Wickipedia Commons

Carte de visite of unknown man in frock coat and stove-pipe hat, ca 1863.  Label on back says “FREDRICKS 585 & 587 Broadway [NY]”

Carte de visite of Robert d’Orléans, Duc de Chartres, ca. 1860, born in Paris in 1840. His father was Ferdinand, Duc d’Orleans, the eldest son of King Louis-Philippe. Along with the rest of his family, he spent the period of the Second Empire in exile in England, at Kingston and Twickenham. In 1863 he married his cousin, Françoise d’Orléans, by whom he had five children. Alongside his older brother, the Comte de Paris, he fought in the American Civil War. In the Franco-Prussian War, he served in the French army under the name Robert le Fort. After 1871 he fought in the Algerian wars, but he was exiled again in 1886. Owing to his brother’s renunciation of his claims, from 1873 to 1883 the Duc de Chartres was regarded by many Orléanists as the rightful pretender. He died at St. Fermin in 1910. No photographer credited. [Information from ebay listing of photograph.]

Carte de visite of unknown young woman in hoop skirt, ca 1863. Printed on back: “Union Gallery, State St., West Rockford [IL?]. F.K. Dunshee, Artist. This negative preserved for future orders.”

Carte de visite of couple with baby, ca 1863. Printed on back: W. A. Verbrike, Photographer, Danville, Ind. Neg No.__. Preserved for further orders.”

A house built in my hometown during the 1850-1860 period by one side of my family. My great-grandparents lived in the house for a time. This is a recent photograph.

“Why on earth do you collect so many antique photographs,” I was asked.

Well, it all started in wanting to write a novel about my Great-Great-grandfather Ike, who lived in a small town in central Illinois. As I started doing research I began wondering what the people in the town might have looked like.

The first carte de visite that I found fascinated me, just as the ambrotypes and daguerreotypes did. These people, living during the turmoil of the 1850-1860 period, could have seen each other and been part of a community.

So I began populating my hometown in my mind. I can’t say I’ve assigned names to them, but I can certainly get an idea about the social strata there.

Hopefully you can picture the people in Ike’s town also.

Carte de visite of moustached young man (probably a soldier) in suitcoat, vest and bow-tie, ca 1863. No identification. Head shot inset into printed frame. Stamped on front: “P.F. COOPER. 1338 Chestnut St., Phila.”

Carte de visite of young boy in bloomer pants and bolero coat and  bow-tie standing beside a bird cage with two birds, ca 1863. Identified in writing as “Rockwell Poiston.” Back and front stamped “Fredricks & Co, 179 Fifth Ave, Madison Square, New York.”

Carte de visite of two young girls (sisters?), ca 1863. The younger wears a plaid long-sleeved dress, bloomers, and high topped shoes, and the older in a striped dress in three-flounces, bloomers and high topped shoes. No identification of girls or the photographer.