Belle Boyd

Isabella Marie Boyd (May 13, 1843 – June 11, 1900), best known as Belle Boyd, Cleopatra of the Secession or Le Belle Rebelle, Confederate spy in the American Civil War, original silver print photograph from the renowned Frederick Hill Meserve Collection. She operated from her father's hotel in Front Royal, Virginia and provided valuable information to Confederate general Stonewall Jackson in 1862. 

Frederick Hill Meserve (1865-1962), a New York textile executive and book lover is considered America's first great photograph collector and a premier authority on Linconiania. Today the collection that Meserve started five generations ago constitutes one of the nation's greatest archives of Civil War era and Abraham Lincoln photographs.

Printed and compiled by Meserve, this first generation photograph from the original negative, measuring approximately 3 x 4.25 inches is displayed through an approximately 2 x 3.25 inch window cut in a portfolio-style matte measuring approximately 8.5 x 11.5 inches. The photograph is attached to its backings by a single strip of hinged tape, rather than adhered completely; may be removed easily, if desired. The reverse side of the photograph is blank, and located below the image on the front of the respective portfolio the title "Belle Boyd" is handwritten.