Antique civil war escutcheon that was likely done by John Reynolds of the Salem MA Zouaves. Reynolds, who was a wounded War veteran, filed a patent for displaying military service records in this form in 1864. These were very expensive and depending on the price would get more expensive and could run $50. This is a nice piece of work and was done for an unusual soldier by the name of Thomas Boden. Originally this says he served on the USS Gemsbok from 8/27/61 to 8/27/62. I could not find a record from this from the Park Service, but that is not surprising. This then shows he enlisted in Co. A of the 50th MA and went in on October 6, 1862 and mustered out on August 24, 1863. The US war records show this as a private. Part of this is hand painted, part of it is printed. It has some water staining and looks worse in the picture then it does in person. It is about 23" x 17". While the Gemsbok had a very interesting time and took numerous prizes, the 50th MA served a boring existence in the siege of Port Hudson and about 1 person was killed in action out of about 1,000 soldiers. These escutcheons are rarely seen.

Art (paintings, prints, frames)
Military