This is a patriotic thermoplastic union case with an ambrotype of three children. The ambrotype is a quarter plate made in 1857 by Littlefield Parsons, an early manufacturer of daguerreotype and union cases; the ambrotype is faded on the left side and you can see part of the Littlefield label underneath the image, the ambrotype also lifts out to reveal the full Littlefield label. The blue velvet lining is very attractive, and the embossed covers depict an eagle holding a banner in its beak and an American shield in its talons, and cannons and cannon balls flank a bivouac area in the background (Krainik, case 27). The case has two snug clasps and slight chips at the tips on top, but still a very desirable piece. The case measures 5 x 3 15/16 in. wide. Clifford Krainik was a leading authority on Civil War era cases. (See Clifford Krainik, Union Cases: A Collector’s Guide to the Art of America’s First Plastics, 1988.)