“Young Woman Attired in Fitted Bodice and White Lace Jabot”
/Hugh S. Anderson’s Portrait Photograph of a
“Young Woman Attired in Fitted Bodice and White Lace Jabot”
THE PHOTOGRAPHER/ PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO:
HUGH S. ANDERSON was born in 1826 in Scotland and died in 1900 in San Francisco, California. He was active in Petaluma as early as January 1872, and he departed Petaluma in December 1873. His Sunbeam Gallery was located, “At the Old Stand, Opposite H. C. Taft & Co.’s”. (For additional information on this photographer and to view all portraits by him in the collection, click on his name in blue above.)
THE SITTER:
Name: Unidentified
Description: In this head-and-shoulders portrait, the young woman faces to our left. Her dark hair has been pulled away from her face, rolled into sausage curls and allowed to fall behind her shoulders. At the crown of her head appears a white hair bow. She wears a long, thin chain about her neck and a drop earring can be seen dangling from her left ear. She wears a light-colored, front-buttoned, fitted bodice over which has been placed a white, lace jabot. At the center of the jabot appears what may be a tussie-mussie or small bunch of flowers or aromatic herbs.
Biographical Note:
Family Affiliation:
Bibliography:
THE PHOTOGRAPH:
Format / Size: carte de visite, approximately 6.25 x 10.5 cm
Medium: albumen photographic print mounted on cardstock
Description, front: This portrait has been set within a vertical oval.
Description, back: Unfortunately, the two-line, handwritten, inscription along the top edge of the back of this carte de visite has been erased. It is barely decipherable, but the top line may be a name, and the second line may be “Petaluma Aug”. After “Aug” appears 1873 in dark black handwriting. It appears to have been written over the date of 1874. In the same dark black handwriting appears a question mark on the top left.
Hugh Anderson’s imprint is on the center of the back of this carte de visite. Anderson created several versions of his Petaluma imprint. A simpler, possibly earlier, version appears here. It is printed in black ink and includes only three lines of text, each in a different font. The text is embellished above and below with a horizontally flipped, elaborate flourish.
Date: January 1872 - December 1873
Condition: All four of the edges of this carte de visite have been clipped. The portrait is soiled, especially in its bottom half.
Owner: Petaluma Historical Library & Museum, 1984-289-10
Reproduction rights: The Petaluma Museum Association makes no assertions as to ownership of any original copyrights to the digitized images here reproduced. These images are intended for personal or research use only. Any other kind of use, including, but not limited to commercial or scholarly publication in any medium or format, public exhibition, or use online or in a web site, may be subject to additional restrictions including but not limited to the copyrights held by parties other than the Association. USERS ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE for determining the existence of such rights and for obtaining any permissions and/or paying associated fees necessary for the proposed use.