[AMERICAN CIVIL WAR; MEDICINE] Studio portrait of Mary Edwards Walker, the first American female surgeon and the only woman to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Manchester, 1866.

Albumen print photograph, carte de visite format, 101 x 64 mm (mount); lower margin recto with imprint of ‘Joseph B. Forster, Pho.’, and a roughly contemporary inscription in pencil identifying the sitter as ‘Dr. Mary Walker’; verso with the studio’s printed motto ‘Light and Truth’; in very good condition.

A rare full-length studio portrait of Dr. Mary Edwards Walker (1832-1919), abolitionist, feminist, prohibitionist – and the first American female surgeon.

During her military service for the Union in the Civil War, Walker treated soldiers from both sides of the conflict, often crossing the lines in order to do so. She was also interned as a prisoner of war for several months on the charge of spying against the Confederacy. In recognition of her distinguished service she was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, and to this day remains the only woman so honoured.

After the war Walker became an influential advocate for women’s rights. This portrait of her was taken in the Manchester studio of Joseph B. Forster, during her 1866 visit to Britain, in which she delivered lectures on dress reform. In this portrait, Walker is wearing her Congressional Medal of Honor.