Burton Raynor Ross
Washington: Mathew Brady, National Portrait Gallery, c1884. One of multiple copies made, few have survived. Photograph. Format is 4.25 inches by 6.5 inches, with the image size 6 inches by 4 inches. Corners rubbed. Some wear, scuffing and soiling front and back. Some loss of paper at top and side edges (no loss of central image). The bottom left has the word Brady, and the bottom right has Washington D. C. Part of text of Washington at bottom caption lost. This is a half figure picture of Burton Raynor Ross in regalia on the front. On the reverse is printed Brady's National Portrait Galleries, 625 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D. C. and handwritten in pencil at the top 1884. 1885. and a right bracket. In ink is says "Burton R. Ross Grand High Priest over DC. Washington DC." It may be possible to identify the Fraternal Order from the regalia. There is a neck sash clasped at the throat. There is a device hung around the neck over the chest by chain which as twelve ornaments (three across and four down), that largely appear oval shape. An internet search found that the term Grand High Priest was most often associated with Masonic organizations. The cabinet card was a style of photograph which was widely used for photographic portraiture after 1870. It consisted of a thin photograph mounted on a card typically measuring 108 by 165 mm (4+1 4 by 6+1 2 inches). The carte de visite was displaced by the larger cabinet card in the 1880s. In the early 1860s, both types of photographs were essentially the same in process and design. Both were most often albumen prints, the primary difference being the cabinet card was larger and usually included extensive logos and information on the reverse side of the card to advertise the photographer’s services. However, later into its popularity, other types of papers began to replace the albumen process. Despite the similarity, the cabinet card format was initially used for landscape views before it was adopted for portraiture. Owing to the larger image size, the cabinet card steadily increased in popularity during the second half of the 1860s and into the 1870s, replacing the carte de visite as the most popular form of portraiture. The cabinet card was large enough to be easily viewed from across the room when typically displayed on a cabinet, which is probably why they became known as such in the vernacular. However, when the renowned Civil War photographer Mathew Brady first started offering them to his clientele towards the end of 1865, he used the trademark "Imperial Carte-de-Visite." Whatever the name, the popular print format joined the photograph album as a fixture in the late 19th-century Victorian parlor. Condition: Fair.
Keywords: Burton Raynor Ross, Burton Ross, Cabinet Card, Photograph, Portrait, Grand High Priest, Regalia, Masonic
[Book #83171]
Price: $2,500.00