Portrait of a Family

Portrait of a Family

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Description
The excitement of having one's portrait taken and the desire to share portraits with friends and family acquired new meaning and urgency with the onset of the Civil War. The pride many men in uniform felt when they visited a photographer's studio mingled with the somber thought that the photograph might be the last image their loved ones would have to remember them by. Soldiers also held portraits of their loved ones close when they headed off for battle.
Location
Currently not on view
Object Name
carte-de-visite
date made
1860s
place made
United States: Pennsylvania, Shippensburg
Physical Description
paper (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 4 in x 2 13/32 in; 10.16 cm x 6.096 cm
ID Number
1985.0736.41.07
catalog number
1985.0736.41.07
accession number
1985.0736
subject
Civil War
See more items in
Work and Industry: Photographic History
Civil War
Photography
Data Source
National Museum of American History
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