This is the part of the story where we are appealing for your help.

We have spent some time making overlays of the confirmed photograph of Comstock and our tintype of Comstock, and although the two images were taken at different times, and are of two different formats; Our image of Comstock is a tintype likely taken in the mid to late 1850s, and the image in the Nevada Historical Society archives is an albumen print likely from a carte de visite taken in the early to mid 1860s, we feel the two images are close enough to make a fairly confident comparison.

In adition to the two images being of two diffrent formats, tintypes were made by creating a direct positive on a sheet of metal, so what you see is actually a mirror image of the original scene. Albumen prints are an exact representation of the scene in front of the camera, so we had to flip the tintype image in order to make our comparisons.

The first comparison images we will present are close ups of Comstock's face from the only known confirmed image, and our tintype.

Please note* We flipped the image of the tintype for this comparison.

Henry Tompkins Paige Comstock Henry Tompkins Paige Comstock

On initial comparison of the two images above we immediately note that both men have very light eyes, both have a similar beard, the jaw lines of both men are nearly identical, the right ear is nearly the same shape, and the shape of the nose is very similar.

When making our comparisons we have to also keep in mind that although both images are taken at a similar angle, the man in the tintype has his head at a slightly upward angle, whereas the image of Comstock to the right has a slightly downward angle.

The image of Comstock to the left appears to be better fed indicating that it was probably taken shortly after the discovery of the silver mine, and adding credibility to the dealers statement that the document discussed the discovery of the mine. Besides Comstock looking slightly older in the image to the right, he also looks somewhat gaunt indicating the image was taken well after he sold his share of the mine.

We also note that both images have Comstock turned slightly to the cameras left, possibly indicating a prefrence on Comstock's part to favor showing his right profile to the camera.

In the next two image comparisons we can see nearly identical clothing, including the hat, jacket, tie, and even the gold watch chain.

Please note* We flipped the image of the tintype for this comparison.

Henry Tompkins Paige Comstock

Henry Tompkins Paige Comstock