Historical Portrait
Erland Mathias Walter (World War I, Tulare County), 002
Archive record
Historic 1914 portrait of Erland Mathias Walter from Woodlake, Tulare County, California. Public-domain World War I era photograph from digital archives.
About this photograph
The archive dates this portrait of Erland Mathias Walter from Woodlake to 1914, though the broader date range extends through 1918. The photographer is not recorded.
Woodlake is in Tulare County, in California's San Joaquin Valley. The county library holds a local history photograph collection focused largely on ordinary residents rather than public figures.
The United States entered the First World War in April 1917. Around 4.7 million Americans served. Local photography studios photographed enlistees in uniform before they departed, often producing the only formal portrait a young man ever sat for. Many of these photographs were made so that a copy could remain at home. County historical collections across the country consequently hold large numbers of such portraits.
Whether this photograph was made before Walter enlisted, during the war years, or simply survives in a collection catalogued under war-era subjects, the record does not specify.
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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