[EARLY PHOTOGRAPHY]. CDV of an African American bride and groom. Quincy, IL: Mrs. W.A. Reed.

CDV on cardstock mount featuring a portrait of a young bride and groom standing together, arm in arm, against a simple studio backdrop. The bride wears a white gown, white gloves, and a veil that appears to be adorned with flowers. A corsage is pinned to the bride's gown. The groom wears a long jacket, vest, and bowtie.

The CDV includes the verso imprint of Mrs. W.A. Reed of Quincy, IL. The photographer, whose full name is Candace McCormick Reed (1818-1900), was a Tennessee native who moved to St. Louis, MO, as a young girl and married Warren Reed in 1842. The Reeds left Missouri for Quincy, IL, and opened a daguerreotype gallery in 1848. Following the death of her husband in 1858, Candace Reed became the sole gallery owner and used her acquired skills as a daguerreotypist, ambrotypist, and photographer to support herself and her family. Reed later sold this business and opened her own Excelsior Gallery, with her sister working as her assistant. Reed typically operated under the name "Mrs. W.A. Reed," or "Mrs. Warren Reed."

Throughout the Civil War, Reed helped to establish a support group for soldiers and their families called the Sisters of the Good Samaritan. She also worked as a nurse, serving in army hospitals located in Chattanooga, Nashville, and Vicksburg.

Reed returned to Quincy at the close of the war and continued to run her gallery at a number of locations over the following years. She was one of very few women photographers operating in the state of Illinois during the 1870s-1880s. In her essay detailing the life and career of Reed, Iris Nelson writes, "Self-employed women, such as Candace Reed, were atypical in the 19th century...Mrs. Reed was the proprietor of a well-known and successful gallery for over 40 years. While many studios came and went, she achieved a prolonged existence that few studios attained."

Source: NELSON, Iris. "Candace McCormick Reed, Photographer." Submitted 2011, Illinois Women Service Project. https://illinoiswomenartists.org/candace-mccormick-reed-1818-1900-photographer/

A rare wedding portrait of an African American couple produced by a notable female photographer.

This lot is located in Cincinnati.