Quarter Plate Daguerreotype of Naval Surgeon Lewis Willis Minor, USN and CSN

Dr. Minor is shown here in the 1850s, seated in his full dress uniform consisting of a double-breasted frock coat boasting two bullion epaulettes and two rows of gilt U.S. Navy officers' buttons; he holds a non-regulation sword, possibly European; the image is housed in a half case under glass, its brass mat stamped "WHITEHURST," indicating the portrait was taken at one of the several studios along the East Coast that were owned by Jesse Harrison Whitehurst of Virginia. Among the firm's locations were the bustling ports of New York City, Baltimore, Norfolk, Wilmington (NC), and Charleston.
Before the Civil War, Lewis W. Minor (1808-1872) of Fredericksburg, Virginia was a career U. S. Navy surgeon, having served in the Mexican War and, later, as Commanding Officer of the Portsmouth, Virginia Naval Hospital. When the Old Dominion left the Union in 1861, Lewis W. Minor, like Robert E. Lee, followed his native state into the Confederacy. He served in New Orleans, Jackson, Richmond, and Mobile during the war and was paroled by the federals on May 10, 1865. He is buried in Portsmouth by his own request.
By descent through the family

Additional high-resolution photos are available at www.lelandlittle.com

An exceptionally clean image lacking the scratches and blemishes often found on daguerreotypes; the lighting is also perfect as it creates a textured and realistic portrait.