Carte-de-visite of Preston Taylor as a drummer with the 116th USCT: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

An albumen carte-de-visite photograph, signed, of Preston Taylor, a drummer in the 116th United States Colored Troops. A dark haired young man, Preston Taylor, wears a soldier’s uniform jacket with three large buttons vertically attached, white detailing around his collar. Within the fading of Taylor’s image, below his jacket buttons, is his signature which reads: [Preston Taylor, Co. G, 116th U.S.C.T.]. The back of the albumen photograph has light stains at the top, and bears the ink printed name and address of the photographer: [L. I. PRINCE, / Photographer / 112 Caral and 8 St. Charles Sts., / (CORNER BUILDING) / Over Union Insurance Co., / New Orleans.]. At the bottom middle of the card is typed: [Additional Copies can be had when required.].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1866
• Photograph by: Louis Isaac Prince, 1832 - 1867
• Subject of: Preston Taylor, American
• Subject of: United States Colored Troops, American, 1863 - 1865
• Type: cartes-de-visite
• Type: albumen prints
• Medium: albumen and silver on wove paper
• Dimensions: H x W (image): 3 5/8 × 2 1/8 in. (9.2 × 5.4 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (sheet): 4 × 2 3/8 in. (10.1 × 6.1 cm)
• Place captured: New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Emancipation
• Topic: Men
• Topic: Military
• Topic: Music
• Topic: Musicians
• Topic: Slavery
• Topic: U.S. History, Civil War, 1861-1865
• Object number: 2019.28.32
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: Public domain Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.