A man wearing a fur cap, heavy outer coat, waistcoat, and striped bow tie poses beside a tripod-mounted surveying instrument. He holds an open notebook in one hand, with the other raised to the mechanism. The telescope, large vertical circle, and levelling assembly identify a theodolite-type instrument; its spreading tripod legs fill the lower foreground.
The reverse bears the photographer’s printed backmark: “A. MARSHALL, / Photographer, / Howe’s Block, Newton. / And 147 Tremont St., Boston. / Negatives preserved.” The portrait was taken at one of Marshall’s two studios, Howe’s Block in Newton or 147 Tremont Street in Boston, Massachusetts; the card does not say which.
The single photograph is mounted on a cream, round-cornered carte-de-visite card. The instrument and notebook give the portrait an occupational character, though the sitter’s name and profession are not recorded. No caption or date appears on either side.
- Medium
- CDV
- Subject
- Occupational
- Dimensions
- 2.48 × 4.18 in (63.1 × 106.2 mm)
- Condition
- Short diagonal crease at the photographic print’s upper-right corner; otherwise clean and sound.
- Catalogue no.
- MCDV914
Catalogue details
Location
147 Tremont St, Boston · Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Photographed subject · Exact site · 80% confidence
studio sitting/interior — taken at the address printed on the card (“147 Tremont St., Boston.”); 19th-century street numbers can differ from today's. Looked up as "147 Tremont St, Boston" → 147 Tremont St, 147 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02111, USA. Order tried: studio-address: "147 Tremont St, Boston" → site ✓.
Source: Card imprint / studio stamp (direct)
