This is being offered up as a “possible” Civil War soldier on ebay!? It is a tintype, and though they were superseded by gelatin emulsion dry plates in the 1880s, I want to say this is from the 1890s as my grandmother had a table exactly like the one in this photo, and it was from the 1890s… anyone an expert? But anyway, why do you suppose this seller thinks this photo is Civil War era? I don’t see anything to suggest that other than it is a tintype.
I can tell you exactly why the seller thinks it’s Civil War era: CW photos command far greater prices than generic 19th century images.
That’s true, and I don’t see anything there to suggest this guy is a soldier.
yes, i agree-the fact that it’s a tintype means nothing-i have many tintypes taken as late as 1898, some perhaps later-many photographers continued to use tintype as their primary method of photography even though more modern methods were in use elsewhere. -akin to some companies that use older forms of printing, production or whatnot even though they became archaic 20 years ago just because they have the equipment and are used to the methods.