2 Remarkable CDVs of Same Soldier-15th Canadian Volunteer Militia Battalion For Sale

Consider these images as two sides of the same coin. On its face, the rather severe, formal portrait of this Canadian officer, a member of the 15th Canadian Volunteer Militia Battalion (a generous er corrected my initial description) and on the flipside a casual, relaxed portrait of the same man with his Militia buddies. The two photos are a study in contrasts, but when yoked together they reveal (in a way that very few CDVs of the period reveal), something of this man's character and the complex nature of his world. In the first photo he stands directly above his wife, stiff armed, with a gloved hand on her shoulder that seems as though it's pressing her down, as if he's saying "no no, don't get up. I can handle this." He looks officious, stern, erect, with raised chin and without a trace of emotion on his face, as though he's just snapped to attention. His wife is an extension of his bearing too: she sits rigidly in her chair, looking off to the side. But where her husband's face reveals little, hers is a different story. She seems lost in thought, contemplating who knows what--perhaps the life and role of being an officer's wife. This arranged scene is softened by the addition of her dog, clearly asleep in her lap. The overall impression here is one of a taut, formal rigor, of knowing one's position in society and leaning into it. The second image is an extraordinary departure from the first. His stiff pose is now replaced by a kind of informal langour. The way he leans casually against a column, posing with his mates suggests he was chatting with them and the photographer just happened upon the scene and took the photo. He now shows real attitude, strengthened not just by his pose but by the drill cane or swagger stick in his hand. Like the dog in the first photo, this prop communicates an attitude and reveals something of his character. He looks like he's tolerating the photographer's presence but that at any minute he might take a swing, just for the hell of it. All in all a really nice pair of CDVs that tell or at least show the beginnings of a story and, when taken together, disclose something more than either can achieve on its own.

The back of the the informal image shows a photographer's stamp G. P. Roberts from St. John, New Brunswick, Canada. The other just has a name--C. Lewis--but I'm fairly sure he was also from Canada.