This is a patriotic thermoplastic case with an ambrotype of a young girl in a full-length dress. The ambrotype is a sixth plate and the dress is hand-colored from top to bottom, which is unusual, because most times only the cheeks were hand-colored on early images like this. The embossed covers feature a ship and an unidentified fort (Krainik 100, The Clipper Ship and the Fort), but we wonder if the fort is really Fort McHenry, site of the battle where Francis Scott Keys penned the Star Spangled Banner, our national anthem; the motif is repeated on front and back and the case is hard to find. The scrollwork on the velvet lining is beautiful and the clasp is snug. There are light nicks and a stress crack on the back side of the case, but that doesn’t detract from the rarity and beauty of the case. The case was made by Littlefield Parsons probably during the Civil War and measures 3 5/16 x 3 3/4 in. wide.