139

Photograph of a Civil War officer, signed by Mathew Brady.

Washington, 30 October 1861
Albumen photograph, 8 x 6½ inches, on original plain mount, captioned enigmatically "Raised March 17th 1857" on recto, and signed and inscribed by the photographer on verso "Brady, Washington, Oct. 30 1861"; uneven toning to mount, one-inch length of string trapped under the photograph while mounting. 

Brady did not routinely sign his work. We are aware of only two other photographs signed by Brady at auction: a cabinet card of Ulysses S. Grant inscribed "To J.E. Kelly from M.B. Brady" (Christie's, 15 November 2005, $10,500); and a portrait of Canadian Prime Minister John A. MacDonald (Swann, 27 June 2024, $4,250).

The sitter, photographed in full dress uniform, with epaulettes, gloves, and sword, is not identified, but bears a strong resemblance to Major Charles Peleg Chandler (1835-1862) of Foxcroft, ME, a graduate of Bowdoin College (1854) and Harvard Law (1857) who served as major of the 1st Massachusetts Infantry, and fought at the Battle of Bull Run. On the date Brady signed this portrait, Chandler's regiment was stationed at Budd's Ferry, MD, about 25 miles south of Washington. A Brady portrait of Chandler from a different sitting survives in carte-de-visite form. Major Chandler was killed at Glendale in June 1862. 

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