South Carolina – A Dapper Guy
While most of each state’s historical images contain either a significant landscape, a political figure, or something relevant to the Civil War, this South Carolina photograph depicts a random man carrying his newspaper. The speculation is that his identity is the director of The Charleston Zeitung, Franz Melchers.
However, this knowledge was never confirmed. Often in 1853, the photograph was taken, and sources are unclear about the photographer. In either case, the mysterious man has descended into history with the oldest photo taken ever in the state.