James Buffington (by Mathew Brady)

James Buffington (March 16, 1817 – March 7, 1875), 19th century United States Congressman from Massachusetts, original 1800s Imperial Carte-de-visite photograph, produced by Mathew Brady's Galleries of New York City and Washington, D.C.

Buffington was born in Fall River on March 16, 1817. He attended the common schools, and Friends College in Providence, Rhode Island. He studied medicine but never practiced, then engaged in mercantile pursuits. He was a member of the Fall River Board of Selectmen from 1851 to 1854, and served as the first Mayor of Fall River under the new city government from 1854 to 1855. He was elected as a candidate of the American Party to the Thirty-fourth Congress and as a Republican to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1855 - March 3, 1863). Buffington was mustered into the service April 24, 1861, and discharged June 15, 1861. He was not a candidate for re-nomination to Congress in 1862. He was a special agent of the United States Treasury and was an internal revenue collector for the district of Massachusetts 1867-1869. Buffington was elected to the Forty-first and to the three succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1869, until his death in Fall River on March 7, 1875. His interment was in Oak Grove Cemetery in Fall River.

In the mid 1860s Mathew Brady began manufacturing his "Imperial Carte-de-Visite" photographs, or "Cabinet cards" as they would later be named in England.  Cabinet card photography did not find widespread popularity in the United States until the early 1870s.

Approximately 4.25 x 6.5 inches in size. Fine condition.