Here we have a very young baby with incredibly pinchable cheeks. This may be a boy but at such a young age there usually is not a lot of hair, so this may in fact be a girl. The child sits on a shaggy fur piece on an ornate wicker chair. At first I thought the fur might have tickled and caused the baby to reach up to his ear, but actually I think the mother might be holding his hand. There appears to be something reaching into the palm of his hand up there, although it’s well hidden, but it explains why the fur would be placed vertically next to him. Look at the hem of the skirt, you can see his toes peeping out too. Scrumptious!
I do wonder if this child is a sibling to our last post from Iowa. The photographer was Keables in Pella, IA, and there are quite a few Keables in Pella, including the Civil War hero and early doctor to the town, Dr. B. F. Keables, although there’s no record he was ever a photographer.
Who Were They? 
Two really cute photos from Iowa. I think they could be the same boy. I think the Keables’ story is interesting in its own right. I found several bio’s of the Ben F. Keables and some of the other Keables – but no mention of who the photographer was – I have a theory…
Keables owned a drugstore – and several of the Keable men were druggist and chemist – the photogrpaher may have only worked there – if this is the case, the photographer might of been daguerreotypists Steele and Duel who apparently rented space in the “Keables” block.
This photo: http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/chemists-chemistry-occupational-cabinet-photo might be the Keables at work.
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