This ninth plate tintype shows a young boy approx. 10-12 years old seated by a table. He wears a dark coat with a turn down collar and a flapped breast pocket with a barely visible dark vest underneath and dark trousers. In his lap he holds a fife. His right arm rests on the table top next to a book. The coat looks like it could be a civilian style coat or a commercial sack coat.

The image has some small scratches and a rubbed area with missing emulsion to the left of the subjects face. The image is clear with good contrast. The brass mat that the image is in has a military motif decoration with drums, flags, swords and cannons. The brass frame is the standard scroll-work design. The union case that the image is housed in has a raised decoration on both sides. The obverse has a scroll at center with “CONSTITUTION AND THE LAWS” written on it. The scroll is inside of a laurel wreath and has a spread-winged eagle perched atop it. This is all surrounded by a circle of 34 five-pointed stars with the edges of the case having a scrollwork design with a Union shield at top. The reverse has an eagle in flight with an oak wreath in its talons at center. This is surrounded by a floral and vine decoration with butterflies worked into the corners. The case also has brass hinges and clasp while the interior has a reddish-brown crushed felt pad with a geometric design.

With the patriotic motif of both the mat and the union case there is no doubt that this boy served as a musician in the Army. Whether or not his coat is military or civilian it does not change the probability of this assumption.

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