1865 Signed CDV Dr. Nathan Savery Chamberlain MD Civil War Surgeon 2c Tax Stamp

Description

1865 CDV Signed by Dr. Nathan Savery Chamberlain MD 2-cent Washington Internal Revenue Tax Stamp Howard Brothers Cancellation
CDV Photo of Dr. Nathan Savery Chamberlain M.D.  Marlboro, Massachusetts
1866 Harvard University Alumni Roll #1542
b. Dec. 23, 1845 d. Oct. 31, 1884 (Typhoid Fever at 38 years old)
Member of the Massachusetts Medical Society
State Medical Examiner for his district
Surgeon of the 6th Regiment MVM (Massachusetts Volunteer Militia / Civil War)
2-Cent Washington Tax Internal Revenue Proprietary Stamp cancelled by photographer HB (Howard Brothers, Bridgewater, Massachusetts)
On August 1, 1864 the Internal Revenue department passed a 'photograph tax' requiring photographers to pay a tax on the sale of their photographs. By 1864 there were no 'photography tax' stamps issued, so other stamps were substituted, typically, the proprietary or playing card revenue stamps was used, usually affixed to the back of the photograph. Already burdened with high overhead costs and scarcity of materials because of the war, large photograph companies organized and petitioned Congress, complaining that they were shouldering too much of the tax burden placed on the public. After exactly two years their constant efforts resulted in the tax being repealed on August 1, 1866. Several other widely used products, such as cotton, tobacco and alcohol, were also charged a proprietary tax which appreciably contributed to the revenues generated.