Who Were They?

Lost and forgotten photos from the past

  This gentleman is showing off some fine, white side burns, while leaving the area around his mouth clean shaven. It may be an illusion, but it looks a bit like his hair comes off his forehead in a “kewpie doll” style. Do you see that too? The photograph can be dated to the 1890s, …

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Today’s photo from the Leather CdV Album is a fine image of a young man posed quite attractively, presumably so he could impress the ladies he visited and thereby left his visiting card. The square corners of the card indicate the 1860s but this is mid to late century (my guesstimate) due to the entire …

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Recently, I acquired a photo album that dates back to the 1860s, during the time when CdV portraiture was really taking off and photo albums became more common. The carte de visite (CdV) became available in 1859 and thrived throughout the following decades. Numerous soldiers engaged in the American Civil War took the time to …

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