[Boy, bust portrait]

Archive record

1 photographic print on cartes de visite mount : tintype, hand-colored. | Photograph showing a portrait of an unidentified boy.

About this photograph

This tintype shows a young boy in formal studio portrait. The archive provides no identification beyond his appearance in the photograph.

The hand coloring, a common enhancement for tintypes of this era, added lifelike tones to the monochrome image. Tintypes were popular in the 1860s for their durability and relatively low cost compared to other photographic processes.

Studio portraits held particular significance in Black communities during this period, serving as deliberate assertions of dignity at a time when published images of African Americans were largely caricatures. Black-owned studios operated in many cities to serve clients whom white studios often refused or treated poorly.

The archive's record leaves the sitter unnamed, a pattern that reflected the record-keeping practices of the era rather than the child's actual obscurity. Catalogue records of this period frequently identified white sitters while leaving Black sitters unnamed.

Compiled from the catalogue record and reference notes on the formats and events involved. The archive record above is the primary source.

About the format

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