Historical Portrait
Catherine Ballesteri, ca. 1890
Archive record
Formal portrait photograph of Catherine Ballesteri from circa 1890. Public-domain historical photograph from the Internet Archive collection.
About this photograph
Catherine Ballesteri sits for a formal portrait around 1890. The photograph captures the studio portraiture conventions of the era, when sitters typically visited professional photographers to mark significant moments or simply to create a lasting image for family records.
The photograph is held by the Internet Archive as part of material contributed by the Monterey Public Library. California Revealed, a statewide programme that digitises holdings from California libraries, archives, museums and historical societies, made the image publicly available. The programme brings together material from many separate local institutions across the state.
Beyond the name and approximate date, the archive record provides no further information about Catherine Ballesteri, her circumstances, or the occasion for the photograph. Such formal portraits were common throughout the late nineteenth century, though the specific context for this sitting remains undocumented.
Compiled from the catalogue record and reference notes on the formats and events involved. The archive record above is the primary source.
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