American Historical Ephemera & Photography

View of 3 soldiers in uniform posed together at Point Lookout (clipped corners, toning). -- View of a substantial waterfall with rocks and trees in the foreground (light toning, soiling and wear to mount edges/corners). "1864 inscribed in ink on mount recto. -- Landscape-oriented view of a reservoir fed by a small, stepped waterfall (good contrast, tonality, soiling and clipped corners to mount). "1864" inscribed in ink on mount recto. Verso with longer inscription reading "Aaron sent this to auntie during Civil War." 1864." -- Together, 3 CDVs, each approx. 2 3/16 x 3 1/2 in. on cardstock mounts, each with pictorial patriotic imprint for R.M. Linn's Gallery at Point Lookout, Lookout Mountain, A. D. 1864.

When the Confederate forces lost Lookout Mountain in Tennessee to Union troops on 24 November 1863 during the "Battle Above the Clouds," photographer R.M. Linn saw a business opportunity, building a studio just behind Point Lookout, a protruding rock about two thousand feet above the ground. The rock provided just enough room for groups or individuals to pose for a breathtaking photograph to have as a keepsake or to send back to their families and friends. So many soldiers posed precariously on the rock, being recorded in various formats, that these photographs are prevalent in Civil War photography chronicles and collections today.