Man in New London, CT
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This is another rather straightforward image, a Carte de Visite of a man standing with a chair in an otherwise empty setting. But I’ve come to really like the strength in the simplicity of these old portraits, particularly ones like this featuring such an arresting gaze. I think this might be one where the photographer touched it up a tiny bit, enhancing the eyes with tiny dots on the pupils. I also like the fact that it’s another one with a revenue stamp on the back, letting us date it from August 1864 to August 1866. It’s a three-cent stamp, meaning the photographer charged between 25 and 50 cents for this photograph. The photographer was Giles Bishop of New London, Connecticut. This was apparently near the beginning of his decades-long career as a photographer, which followed a life that took him from Connecticut to California, to Vancouver, to Baltimore, and back to Connecticut, where he finally set up shop. You can read an obituary for the photographer here. (The man in the photo is not identified.)
Pics of Then 
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