Historical Portrait
Elbert Tout (World War I, Tulare County)
Archive record
Historical portrait of Elbert Tout from Tulare County, California during World War I era, circa 1914. Public domain photograph from historical archive.
About this photograph
The record identifies this as a portrait of Elbert Tout from Tulare County during the First World War period.
Tulare County sits in California's San Joaquin Valley, a farming region that relied on irrigated agriculture. The county library maintains a local history photograph collection focused on ordinary residents rather than public figures.
The United States entered the war in April 1917. After that point, local photography studios across the country photographed enlistees in uniform before they departed. These portraits were often made so a copy could remain at home with family. For many young men, such a sitting produced the only formal photograph they would ever have.
The record gives a date range of 1914 to 1918, though American involvement began partway through that span. No photographer is identified. The broad date suggests uncertainty about when exactly this portrait was made, which is common for family photographs that entered institutional collections without accompanying documentation.
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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