Figure 1.-- We do not know this boy's name. We do know that he was an American boy from New York. We also know who the photographer was. The preserver mat is signed "CARDEN & CO., 293 B.WAY". Robert A. Carden is listed as a Daguerreotype photographer in 1853-54 at 293 Broadway in New York City. He appears to have been active even before the 1853-54 period. The dealer estimated that the portrait here to be from 1847-50. While we do not know the exact date, it is clear that the portrait was taken about 1850.

We have generally reserved our ordinary people biography section to images for which we have the family name. Then we refer to these pages on other pertinent HBC pages. We have found a few images without the family name, but which we believe is a useful addition because we have the date of the image or other pertinant information. This is especially valuable for early periods for which the photographic record is more scanty than the 20th century. And we also plan to sort these listings by date. Also we load images here without family names because there is other useful information associated with the image.

Unidentified Boy (America, about 1850)

We do not know this boy's name. We do know that he was an American boy from New York. We also know who the photographer was. The preserver mat is signed "CARDEN & CO., 293 B.WAY". Robert A. Carden is listed as a Daguerreotype photographer in 1853-54 at 293 Broadway in New York City. He appears to have been active even before the 1853-54 period. The dealer estimated that the portrait here to be from 1847-50. While we do not know the exact date, it is clear that the portrait was taken about 1850. R. A. Carden (probably the same photographer) is also listed in San Francisco, California in 1856 at the corner of Clay and Kearny Streets. The portrait is a stunning Daguerreotype. He seems to be a serious young boy and is sitting in a chair. His face and hands are tinted and his pants may also be tinted. The seem to have a lavender hue. His elbow rests on a tablecloth that is tinted in blue. This Dag is sharp and has exceptional contrast. The boy wears a jacket with metal buttons and a floppy bow rather than a stock which was more common at the time. You can even see the texture in the bow. The case is 2 3/8 by just under 3 inches and the actual Dag is about 2 inches by slightly under 2 1/2 inches. The case is complete with its single latch assembly and is apart at the hinge.

Fritzle (Germany, 1879)

Here is a fascinating portrait of a little German boy in 1879. His first name was Fritzle. Unfortunately we do not know his family name. This is a particularly image both because of what is written on the back and the clothing that he is wearing. The text on the back says, "Aufgenommen anno 1879. Fritzle ist 3 1/2 Jahr alt & ein böser Bub." In English this means. "Picture taken in 1879. Fritzle is 3 1/2 years old and a bad boy." Note how is jacket is cut and the length of his pants.

Unidentified Brother and Sister (United States, late 1920s)

This American brother and sister were probably photographed in the late 1920s. The children's first names are written on the back, but unfortunately cropped, so we are unsure about them, but we do know thet are 7 and 9 years old. They are ???audie 9 years old and ????y Ruth 7 yeats old. We know their grandmother's name was Harris. So their last name nay be Harris, although we do noy know if she was the maternal or paternal grandmother. The portrait is not dated, but we know it would have been taken in 1926 or later because it has square boxes in the AZO stamp box. The children's clothing suggest that the portrait was taken in the late 1920s. The early 30s is possible, but the late 20s seem most likely. The little girls short dress conforms this time period as well as the boys above the knees knickers worn with kneesocks.

Created: 8:13 PM 7/21/2006
Last edited: 8:13 PM 7/21/2006