Photo Record
Images
Metadata
Object Name |
Ambrotype |
Title |
James Phelan and Unidentified Soldier |
Catalog Number |
0985.06.00183 |
Description |
Half-plate ambrotype with applied color of two men seated, both facing camera, looking at camera; man on proper right angled slightly 3/4 to viewer's right, hair parted on his left side, cut short, moustache, cheeks tinted pink, wearing double-breasted frock coat unbuttoned, standing collar with insignia tinted gold, eleven gold-tinted buttons visible, string looped through top buttonhole and around third button down to the right to hold coat together, coat draped over right shoulder and right sleeve hanging loose, right elbow is bent and right forearm and hand are wrapped in bandages, left arm in left sleeve, sleeve braid tinted gold, shirt front visible, shirt collar turned down, narrow necktie hanging slightly askew; man on proper left posed slightly 3/4 to viewer's left, hair parted on his left side, cut short, moustache and mutton chops, cheeks tinted pink, wearing single-breasted frock coat, buttoned except for second button from top, eight gold-tinted buttons visible, standing collar, insignia on coat collar tinted gold, left arm resting on table, sleeve braid tinted gold, right arm resting on lap, sleeve braid tinted gold, legs crossed right over left; table in center covered with paisley cloth, backdrop pastoral scene with building and tree; Gilt scalloped mat with embossed bead around image opening, label with the number 21 printed on it inserted under mat upside down, velvet pad lining obverse cover embossed with scroll and flower motif, thermoplastic union case with cavalier and lady motif on the front and gem motif on the back; union case sections still joined at spine by brass hinges. |
Medium |
Brass/Glass/Metal/Paint/Photographic Emulsion/Thermoplastic/Velvet |
Studio |
Unknown |
Photographer |
Unknown |
Owner Regiment |
Regiment unknown |
Provenance |
Tentatively identified as Senator James Phelan (1821-1873) (left), Confederate States Congress, and Unidentified Soldier (right). Phelan won election to a two-year term as Confederate senator from Mississippi, but his extreme nationalism (including a proposal for impressing all Southern cotton to pay for the war effort) led to his defeat for reelection in 1863. He subsequently entered the army with the rank of colonel and served as a judge-advocate. It is not clear why Phelan's arm was bandaged. |
People |
Phelan, James |
Search Terms |
Confederate Congress Confederate Government Alabama |
Subjects |
Ambrotypes Cased photographs Military officers Photographic studios Photographs Photography Soldiers War Wounded in war Wounds & injuries |