Unusual subject matter in this carte de visite by Martin’s Gallery of St. Paul, Minn. William Crooks (1832-1907), the colonel and commander of the Sixth Minnesota Infantry, stands next to a table top stereoscope, likely made by Alexander Beckers, a pioneer photographer, artist, inventor and businessman in New York City. Beckers, a friend and competitor of photographer Edward Anthony, received ten patents for the stereoscope during two decades in the latter half of the Nineteenth Century. Stereoview photographs could be viewed in 3-D using devices like the one pictured here.
This portrait is now available on Pinterest, Tumblr, and Flickr:
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Beautiful piece. I also came across this on ebay but couldn’t make the ID despite some research. How did you figure out who it was?
Hi Kurt,
Upon magnification of his shoulder straps, it became clear to me that the officer was a colonel. I sent the scan to Roger Hunt, author of the popular “Colonels in Blue” series. He immediately identified him!
Ron
Thanks Ron! I appreciate the details. Roger Hunt’s books are a great resource.