Composite of Class of '87 Harvard
Artist
John L. Lovell
(American, 1825 - 1903)
DateJune 1887
MediumAlbumen cabinet card
DimensionsImage: 3 × 3 inches (7.62 × 7.62 cm)
Credit LineGift of Hallmark Cards, Inc.
Object number2005.27.4249
SignedArtist's ID imprinted on back and front of card.
InscribedVerso (imprinted): Maker's ID "Lovell Portraits, 105 Main Street, Northampton [Mass.]"
Verso (handwritten): title/ date
Recto (imprinted b.c.): Maker's ID "Lovell Photo Northampton, Mass."
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionCircular image of man's face, softly focused. (Appears to be a portrait for a yearbook).Gallery LabelIn the 1880s, composite photography was something of a popular fad. Composites such as these were created by exposing a series of portrait negatives, one after another, on a single sheet of photographic paper. Here, the entire college class of Harvard is compressed into a single collective face. Created largely for amusement, these images also reflected the thinking of the day—now long discredited— that various character traits could be identified in physiological features.
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