Historical Portrait
Chris Martzen (World War I, Tulare County)
Archive record
Historical portrait of Chris Martzen from Dinuba West precinct, Tulare County, California, taken in 1914. Public-domain World War I era photograph.
About this photograph
This photograph of Chris Martzen was made in 1914, the year given by the archive. He was from Dinuba West precinct in Tulare County.
Tulare County is located in California's San Joaquin Valley, a farming region that developed through irrigated agriculture in the later nineteenth century. The county library maintains a photograph collection documenting local residents and community life.
The record labels this as a World War I era photograph, though the United States did not enter the war until April 1917. The dating presents some uncertainty: the archive gives both 1914 specifically and a broader range of 1914 to 1918. If the 1914 date is firm, the photograph would predate American involvement. Studios in this period regularly photographed men in uniform before they departed for service, and many county collections hold such portraits, which were often made so families could keep a copy at home.
The photographer is unknown. This record reached the Internet Archive through California Revealed, a programme that digitises historical material from institutions across the state and makes it publicly available.
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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