Historical Portrait
Pioneer Jewish Family Portrait - Two Adults and Three Children
Archive record
Historical portrait of a pioneer Jewish family of five from 1900. Public domain photograph showing two adults and three children in formal poses.
About this photograph
A formal studio portrait of five people: two adults and three children. The record identifies them as a Jewish family, though their names and relationships are not given. The photographer and exact location are not known.
The date places the sitting near the height of a major wave of immigration to the United States. Between roughly 1880 and 1920 some twenty million people arrived, most from southern and eastern Europe. Studio portraits served a practical purpose during this period: families made them at home to leave with relatives, or commissioned them soon after arrival to send back as proof they had reached their destination and found work.
Whether this family was recently arrived or already established is not stated. The formal poses and careful dress were standard for studio work of the time, when a portrait sitting remained an occasion requiring one's best clothes and a composed manner.
The photograph is held by the Internet Archive and was digitised through California Revealed, a statewide programme that makes material from California libraries, archives, museums and historical societies available to the public.
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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