Visual Materials

Beecher family portrait (large albumen print)

Description: A large format print (10 x 12 1/2 in.), with some retouching, of the 1859 Beecher family portrait, produced approximately 1880 by I. C. Pardee, Brooklyn, New York. The mount has Pardee's imprint and ink handwriting identifying the sitters and (incorrectly) dating the photograph 1852.
Type: Visual Materials(Opens in new tab)
Date: printed approximately 1880
Call number: photCL 688
Provenance: Purchased for the Huntington from Luxury Catalogs Inc. - 19th Century Rare Book & Photograph Shop by the Library Collectors' Council, March 19, 2022.
Restrictions: Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.; RESTRICTED: Box 1: Item is fragile and only available with curatorial approval.

Beecher family photograph collection

Visual Materials

A collection of five photographs of various Beecher family members in five different photographic formats: ambrotype, albumen print, carte-de-visite, cabinet photograph, and a hand-colored salted paper print. A portrait of Lyman Beecher produced by Mathew Brady in 1856 is a combination of watercolor, ink, and pencil added to the surface of a salted paper print. There are two variants of a Beecher family group portrait taken in 1859 depicting Lyman Beecher and nine of his adult children; one is a large albumen print and the other an ambrotype. Also included are an autographed cabinet photograph of an older Harriet Beecher Stowe; and a hand-colored Augustus Morand print based on a miniature of a young Eunice White (Bullard) Beecher, author and wife of Henry Ward Beecher. This carte-de-visite portrait is within a Bullard family album containing 45 additional cartes-de-visite and cabinet photographs. Only a few portraits in the album are identified, including some cousins of Eunice Bullard.

photCL 688

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Bullard family album with portrait of Eunice White (Bullard) Beecher

Visual Materials

An album featuring a hand-colored albumen print based on a miniature of a young Eunice White (Bullard) Beecher, author and wife of Henry Ward Beecher. The print by photographer Augustus Morand was made approximately 1860s and is on a carte-de-visite mount. Handwriting on the back reads: "Mrs. Henry Ward Beecher, taken from a miniature when she was 18 years old." The Bullard family album contains 45 additional cartes-de-visite and cabinet photographs dating from approximately 1860s to 1880s. Most people are unidentified, though three identified people were cousins of Eunice: Clara G. Bullard, daughter of William Reed Bullard; and two children, Florence May Wyman and Arthur Wyman, whose parents were Charles F. Wyman and Helen Knight (Bullard) Wyman. Visible imprints identify photographic studios in Boston, New York, Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio.

photCL 688

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Beecher family portrait (ambrotype)

Visual Materials

An ambrotype of ten members of the Beecher family in a group portrait originally taken by Mathew Brady in New York, in March 1859. This ambrotype was copied by photographer George M. Howe from one of the original salted paper prints. The image is in the bottom half of a leather case and has a gold mat with the stamp of G. M. Howe of Portland and Upton, Maine. Lyman Beecher is seated at center, flanked by his four daughters (from left to right, Isabella, Catharine, Mary, and Harriet). Behind them stand five of the seven brothers (from left to right, Thomas, William, Edward, Charles, and Henry Ward - George died in 1843, and James was in Hong Kong serving as a missionary). This was the last time they came together before Lyman died in 1863. The portrait was reproduced in several photographic formats over the years, including the print in Box 4.

photCL 688

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Lyman Beecher portrait

Visual Materials

A half-length seated portrait of Lyman Beecher by photographer Mathew Brady. A combination of watercolor, ink, and pencil has been added to the surface of the salted paper print. "Brady's Gallery, 205 & 359 Broadway, New York" is stamped in the red velvet case lining.

photCL 688

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Harriet Beecher Stowe portrait

Visual Materials

A cabinet photograph of an older Harriet Beecher Stowe, showing her in profile, taken approximately 1880s by photographer George H. Hastings, Boston, Massachusetts. Signed by Stowe on the lower front mount, below the image.

photCL 688

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Group Portraits and Government Events - Large Format

Visual Materials

These views are printed from Johnston's 11x14 in. and larger glass plate negatives. This notable grouping included a mounted, platinum print of the Officers of the First National Congress of Mothers, February 1897. This organization was the forerunner of the Parent-Teacher Association, and the portrait is autographed by all the sitters. There is an interesting series of cyanotype proofs and platinum prints of Mrs. Cleveland and the Ladies of the Cabinet (#1250-1257). Both sittings (January, February 1897) are included and two of the mounted prints are signed by some of the women in attendance. Other items are group views of the first and second McKinley Cabinets; Signing of the Ratification of the Treaty with Spain (1898,1899); Opening Ceremonies of the 59th U.S. Congress (1905).

photCL 352 (1249-1276)

Beecher family portrait (large albumen print)

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Beecher family photograph collection

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