Lot 52

Lot 52

Cool oval velvet case with a mother of pearl cameo with a Grecian or Roman theme and housing an albumen photo of a handsome young man. What makes this intriguing is that it has a photographer’s stamp for R.M. Linn, Oct 23, 1886, Pt. Lookout, TN.  Robert “Royan” M. Linn established a photo studio in 1863 during the Civil War and began taking photos of soldiers on Pt. Lookout. Well known collector and dealer Jeff Kraus has some stunning stereoviews by Linn on his website, including a stereo of his studio. This is obviously a little over a year after the war had ended. Our young sitter was possibly a soldier himself or maybe just a tourist on vacation. We love that Linn has created this as a vignette, “magic ring” style albumen to carry on the past era. The case has some wear and fading on the velvet as seen. The hinge is a little tight and has a hint of give. We’ve sold a large number of these cameo cases over the years and this is the first we have found with an albumen and this later date. With the historic connection it is certainly uncommon.