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THB[CIVIL WAR] Virginia Major by Rees
![[CIVIL WAR] Virginia Major by Rees](https://s1.img.bidsquare.com/item/xl/3261/32613526.jpeg?t=1UVJlf)
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About Auction
LiveOct 9, 2025
A selection of fine Civil War portraits assembled by collector, Pat Booth (1941-2022). Fleischer's Auctions info@fleischersauctions.com
View Full Catalog (48)
- Lot Description
Quarter plate full-length studio portrait ambrotype. Richmond, Virginia: Charles Rees, circa 1861-1862. Full leatherette case.
A portrait of an unknown Confederate officer holding his ornate sword and hat. His coat features a star device on each side of his collar, indicating a rank of Major. He no doubt went on to experience hard fighting in Gen. Lee's army.
It has been suggested, on the basis of a strong physical likeness and the appropriate insignia of rank, that the sitter may be identified as Major Richard Dowling.
This photograph was unquestionably produced in the studio of Charles Rees, a Richmond, Virginia, photographer who produced some of the most iconic southern images of the Civil War era. The majority of surviving ambrotypes known to have been made by Rees were struck from early 1861 to summer of 1862.
Most portraits by Rees, such as the example offered here, follow specific composition patterns. For larger plates like this, soldiers (usually officers) were typically shot in a standing pose next to a faux classical column. An ornate Victorian chair, sometimes referred to as the "Rees chair," was placed on the opposite side of the subject to balance the composition. Rees made many such images, and they stand as a veritable "who's who" of eastern theater Confederate officers.
Rees images are highly prized by Civil War photography collectors; this is a rare opportunity to add a very strong example.
[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Photography, Early Photography, Historic Photography, Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes, Tintypes, Cased Images, Union Cases, Albumen Photographs, CDVs, Carte de Visites, Cartes de Visite, Carte-de-visite, Cartes-de-visite, CDV, Cabinet Cards, Stereoviews, Stereocards]
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