Very Rare CDV Image of Dwarf Entertainer "Colonel" Josephus H. Chaffin

(1826 -1873), the CDV's backmark reads "Watson's Photographic Fine Art Gallery, Raleigh, N.C.," a period reverse inscription in pencil above states, Col J.H. Chaffin 43 years old 27 inches High & weighs 23 lbs. The smallest man in the world.

Chaffin, a native of Bedford, Virginia, toured extensively in North and South America while a young man. For this photograph taken later in life, he poses in a tiny Federal colonel's frock coat some four years after the Civil War came to an end. Although a Virginian, he might have been a proponent of national unity amid the political turbulence of Reconstruction. Of special interest is the chair by which Chaffin stands. Stylistically, it appears to be in the manner of the celebrated Thomas Day, a free man of color and talented craftsman from Milton, North Carolina.

Age toning, minor edge losses. Overall good condition.