Mar 10, 2020 - Sale 2533

Sale 2533 - Lot 79

Price Realized: $ 175
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 250 - $ 350
(CIVIL WAR--MASSACHUSETTS.) White, W.F.; artist. A Tribute to the Memory of the Fallen Brave. Hand-colored lithograph, 18 x 13 1/2 inches, with text completed in manuscript, and 4 x 2 1/4-inch hand-colored albumen photograph mounted from verso, secured with a paper strip; moderate foxing and toning, minor wear in lower margin; in modern double-sized frame. Boston: J.H. Bufford, 1864

Additional Details

These certificates were mass-produced for the use of grieving families of Civil War casualties. The elaborate decorative border shows several battle scenes and patriotic motifs, along with the names of several battles from the early years of the war. This example was completed in honor of Private Samuel B. Hale, who was serving as a private in the 36th Massachusetts Infantry when he was killed at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House in May 1864. A carte-de-visite was pasted in from the verso so it could be seen through the frame. On the back of the photograph, a family member has noted "blue eyes, hair dark brown" as an aid to the colorist.