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Museum object · Slavery and Freedom Objects

Carte-de-visite portrait of Lydia Maria Child

ca. 1865

Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States, North and Central America

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Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

Carte-de-visite of Lydia Maria Child shown in half portrait. Child is seated behind the corner of a white columned banister, possibly on a balcony outside a house with wooden siding next to a window with a lace curtain. Her left elbow is propped on the railing and her left hand rests on her chin. She holds a book in her right hand, which she is reading. Her hair is parted at the center and gathered into curls or braided above her ears, then pulled behind her head. She wears a dark colored bodice and skirt with dropped bell sleeves and white lace collar. There is a ring with a dark stone on her left hand ring finger. The text "John A. Whipple / 297 Washington Street / Boston." is printed on the back of the photograph. The photograph is housed in the album 2017.30. The album page has a triple-lined, gold border framing the print.

Sources & collection details

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture — original record ↗

Source collection ↗

Catalog metadata · CC0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

Catalog reference: 2017.30.21

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