The frames and cases in which portraits made during the Civil War were set served not just to protect those images but to preserve couples and families as a symbolic unit when their members were far apart. The four photographs shown here were produced separately, but placing those portraits together, with links between the frames, kept those family members united in spirit, if not in reality.
Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.
If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.