An original carte de visite photograph of the superb American pianist and composer.

In an unidentified hand on the verso, someone has penciled May 27, 1864 New York; we have found other examples of this image dated the same year.

New Orleans-born Gottschalk traveled to Paris at age 13, where Chopin said Give me your hand, my child: I predict you will become a King of Pianists. He indeed became a superb pianist and composer and he led a very colorful life, was an ardent supporter of the Union cause during the American Civil War, even though he traveled extensively, especially in South America. He composed pieces including piano works which carry a legacy of slave music, considered the precursor of ragtime and jazz, earning him an important place in American musical history.