The word "iconic" has become much overused, but this cyanotype struck me in that way, feeling like an iconic and very cinematic portrait of a soldier on horseback, with the striations to the sky behind him enhancing the effect, almost like some sort of otherwordly phenomenon of light--or the aurora borealis! Happily, a handwritten note on the back of the mount provides full details: 1st Regiment Maryland Volunteer Infantry on practice march in Georgia, Jan. 20, 1899. The halt for dinner. Snap shot at Major Phipps on horseback by one of the enlisted me. With a little digging I've learned that Major Phipps is Major Joseph B. Phipps, a Civil War veteran of Indiana regiments who settled in Baltimore, served as a Major and Lt. Col. in the 4th Maryland Infantry, later volunteering to revert to Lt. Col. to serve in the 1st Maryland Infantry during the Spanish-American War in 1898--so a bit of an icon indeed! 

Overall: 4 15/16" x 4 7/8". Photo 3 3/8" x 3 5/16" w. Very good condition, reads bright and crisp.