1880s cadet buddies. Caleb L. and John C. Howe. Brattleboro. Cabinet Card. Private Collection.
These four teens from Brattleboro, Vermont were most likely cadets, maybe in a marching band?
Photographer Caleb Howe chose to take this picture horizontally, preferring to catch the boys in close-up. One of them is smiling and the others seem comfortable in front of the camera.
The card has yellowed with the passing of time.
Caleb Howe & Son. Back of card.
Photographer: Caleb Lysander Howe & Son (John C. Howe). Brattleboro. Vermont.
Caleb Lysander Howe (1811-1895) was a highly respected photographer in his home state of Vermont. He began his craft on the road in the late 1840s. During the Civil War he photographed a great number of soldiers who queued at his studio door for a chance to get their portrait taken. He also photographed Union General John W. Phelps on a card with the similar backing.
Howe’s son joined him in the business in the early 1880s. Since his initials appear on that cabinet card as well as the one I have I believe these were made a couple of decades after the war, by the end of the general’s life who passed in 1885.
Caleb Howe was also a singer and musician. There is a page dedicated to his life that is worth a look. There you can see the John W Phelps card.
Bowlers And High Collars 
October 5th, 2015 at 7:54 am
Great photo, I like that the photographer took it in landscape. The uniforms are awesome :-). The photographer is interesting!
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October 5th, 2015 at 9:09 am
Yes, I feel lucky to have found more info about him. He was multi-talented!
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October 8th, 2015 at 7:01 am
Nice info on Caleb Howe! I am a Brattleboro resident and come across his name often; I believe he had his studio on Main Street. My guess is that the young men pictured were cadets at Burnside Military School, which was at the former Wells residence on Upper Dummerston Road, just north of town. It operated, to the best of my knowledge, from 1859 til 1881, when it was purchased by the Brattleboro Retreat and converted to a summer residence for female patients. The lads pictured may have been one of the last classes enrolled there.
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October 8th, 2015 at 8:01 am
Great info on the school, thanks! As you said if they were from there, they must have been from the last class. 1881 would have been right when Caleb’s son joined him in the business.
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