William O. Alden Sr. (1884-1963) and
his mother Cora E. Caldwell Alden (1860-1934)
She was the daughter of William and Elizabeth (nee Trester) Caldwell and the wife of
Elihu Alden (1851-1935) of
Petersburg, Kentucky.
Notice her curly hair, which has been passed on to later generations.
William is wearing the same jacket as in
a different portrait.
circa 1890
Scanned from a
cabinet card (6 1/2 by 4 1/4 inches)
by James N. Walton's photographic studio in
Aurora, Indiana.
(Aurora was right across the
Ohio River from Petersburg, Kentucky, where the Aldens lived.)
The photo was crudely retouched to make the pupils of Cora's eyes appear darker.
The cabinet card was first introduced in the 1860s, and by the 1880s, it had largely replaced the smaller
carte de visite (2 1/2 by 4 inches) as the most popular form of portraiture.
With the introduction of the
Kodak Brownie camera in 1900, people began taking their own portraits, and the cabinet card declined in popularity.
The gold beveled edges of this card date it to the period between 1885 and 1892.
Printed below the photograph on the front of the card:
"Walton, Aurora, Ind."
Printed on back of the card (along with ornate designs):
"Jas. N. Walton Artistic Photography
No. 90 Second St.
Aurora, Ind.
Instantaneous process used exclusively
Duplicates can be had at any time"
This photo is in the public domain because it was created more than 95 years ago.
