Title
Preview
Document Type
Image
Contributing Institution
Readfield Historical Society
Description
Carte de visite image of Readfield, Maine. Photographer's backmark carries the name of Charles G. Finn of Kents Hill.
The Readfield Historical Society notes that this is the earliest known view of Readfield and the date of 1875 that is written on the back is likely inaccurate.
There are 36 stars on the flag, indicating a date post of 1864 on the admission of Nevada. The Maine Year-Book only has a listing for the photographer for one year, in 1869. Data for that year book was gathered in one year and published the next, so the assumption was that Mr. Finn was probably in Kents Hill in 1868.
Both Early Shettleworth and Marius Peladeau agree that the view was probably taken in 1868 and the flag was to highlight a "Grant For President" occasion in 1868.
Shettleworth considers this to be one of the very early, perhaps earliest, Maine town scenes in existence and should be considered and treated as a "very large nugget of gold."
Adding to its rarity is the appearance of Finn's traveling "darkroom" at left, a necessity when using the era's wet glass plate collodian negatives.
Building marquee on right side of page might include the word "Essex."
Broad Creation Date
ca. 1868
Location
Readfield; Kennebec County
Keywords
Maine; Readfield; Carte de Visite Image
Image Location
Rights Statement
No Copyright - United States. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/
The organization that has made the Item available believes that the Item is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States, but a determination was not made as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. The Item may not be in the Public Domain under the laws of other countries. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information.