Ambrotype Rooms, Winchendon, Massachusetts

1860s

Kilburn S. Porter

Associated Names
Kilburn S. Porter

Artist, American, 1829 - 1914

The image depicts a street view from a slightly elevated perspective, focusing on a row of connected buildings. The structures have wooden facades, evenly spaced windows, and signs for businesses like "HARDWARE," "Ambrotype Rooms," and "S.A.& B. SMITH." A group of men stands in front of the hardware store, next to a horse-drawn wagon facing left. Additional shops along the street have signs for "HARNESS, SADDLES & TRUNKS" and "BONNET ROOM." The horizon blends into the buildings with slanting roofs and chimneys. The photograph's sepia tones enhance its historical ambiance, suggesting a late 19th or early 20th-century American town. The focus is on the architecture and figures, with no visible sky or landscape elements, capturing a moment of stillness on an unpaved street.

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    albumen silver print (carte-de-visite)

  • Credit Line

    Robert B. Menschel Fund

  • Dimensions

    image/sheet: 5.7 × 9.3 cm (2 1/4 × 3 11/16 in.)
    mount: 6.1 × 10.1 cm (2 3/8 × 4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2021.122.11


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Thomas Harris, New York); NGA purchase, 2021.

Associated Names

Inscriptions

on verso, by unknown hand, top left in graphite: RM-SRQH030; center printed in black ink perpendicular: K.S. PORTER / Photographic / ARTIST. / WINCHENDON, / MASS.; along right edge: Negative preserved, from which Duplicates can be had at any time.


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