(MILITARY--SPANISH AMERICAN WAR.) PHOTOGRAPHY. Friendly (possible family) get-together at an officer's tent (supplied title). Half-plate tintype, in a contemporary case (hinge repaired); some bends to the plate, with a couple of minor scratches. Np, circa 1890-1905
a rare and unusual photograph of what seems to be some sort of summer visitors' day in the field. The assemblage is quite odd and includes a black soldier who is smoking a cigar. Seated next to him is a young boy who is wearing the black soldier's infantry cap. The black man in turn has the boy's hat on which is clearly too small. Seated to the right, is a well-dressed man wearing a spiked white summer helmet. An altogether confusing image; we have speculated that this scene might have been captured during field exercises prior to overseas deployment. The white helmet is very much like those made for the New York National Guard during the period that would encompass the Spanish American War.
