The affable sitter in this sixth plate image is Assistant Surgeon William R. Hughes, 31st NC Infantry; he wears a short gray military jacket with shoulder straps and wide lapels while holding a standard M1850 foot officer's sword; the subject's belt is secured by a brass tongue-and-wreath plate cast with the raised letters "NC" for North Carolina. Three similar plates - all rated "Rarity 9" (of 10) - are shown as specimens in Confederate Buckles and Plates by the late Steve E. Mullinax. Any period Civil War photograph showing this style of buckle in use is excessively rare.

Accompanying the image is A Manual of Military Surgery, For the Use of Surgeons in the Confederate States Army; with an Appendix of the Rules and Regulations of the Medical Department of the Confederate States Army by J. Julian Chisholm, M. D., (Richmond: J. J. Chisholm, 1862), second edition, Parrish & Willingham 6112, small 8vo (7-1/4 in), 514 pp., the back endpapers are pencil signed by the surgeon's daughter, "Bedie Hughes", likely well after the war, along with manuscript recipes for her "Potato Pudding" and "Cup Cake."

From the Collection of the late Dr. Joseph C. Greenfield, Jr., Durham, North Carolina

Descendants of the sitter describe him as a Confederate "doctor" belonging to the Hughes family of Cedar Grove, a rural crossroads in Orange County, North Carolina. A William Rice Hughes (1832-1881) from this location, indeed, served as an assistant surgeon in the 31st North Carolina Infantry and is buried in the Old Eno Cemetery, Cedar Grove Township.

A clear and well-defined image with nice tonal contrasts; the image is fixed to the glass by unknown means; some fogging when angled to the light; no obvious marks; the lid and back of the case were not originally paired; the surgeon's manual was tightly rebound in the 20th century by the National Library Bindery Co. of Atlanta per a label inside the front cover; the original text within has light foxing throughout; however, the pages are crisp and whole; overall very good condition.

$1,000 - 3,000