Photograph album I, undated

ALBUM (I). OWNED BY SILAS WEIR MITCHELL AND BEARING HIS NUMEROUS AUTOGRAPH IDENTIFICATION INSCRIPTIONS. The following 76 photographs appear in an album issued by J.B. Lippincott & Co., Philadelphia, bound in the original tan morocco, handsomely decorated in gilt and brown, with functional metal clasps. Front board detached, else very good. Photographs are in very good or better condition, unless when otherwise indicated below. The contents are as follows:

[Page 1]. [HENRY, Alexander]. CDV. Back-mark: M.P. Simons, 1320 Chestnut St., Phila. Moderate stains and foxing; good plus. Subject identified by inscription in album. Head shot of Henry, here seen as an elderly man, in left profile. This albumen photograph evidently reproduces a daguerreotype or perhaps a painting. Alexander Henry (1766-1847), the maternal grandfather of Silas Weir Mitchell, was a wealthy Philadelphia merchant and philanthropist, who served as first president of the American Sunday School Union and as a director of the Bank of the United States. His grandson, Alexander Henry (1823-1883), served as mayor of Philadelphia during 1858-1866. The photographer, Montgomery P. Simons (b. 1816 or 1817, d. 1877) was active as a daguerreotypist in Philadelphia by 1848 and established a photographic studio at 1320 Chestnut Street by 1862. The present carte de visite was likely issued sometime between that year and the end of the 1860’s.

[Page 2]. [MITCHELL, Silas Weir]. CDV. Backmark: J.E. McClees, 910 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. Some light soiling, but very good. Head-shot portrait of Mitchell as a young man. Inscription in album reads: “S.W.M.”

[Page 3]. [MITCHELL, John Kearsley (II)]. CDV. Back-mark: : J.E. McClees, 910 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. Head-shot portrait of Silas Weir Mitchell’s son as a young child. Subject identified based on inscription in album.

[MITCHELL, Langdon Elwyn]. CDV. Back-mark: E. Woodward, No. 1 cor[ner] Church and Gay Sts., West Chester. Card trimmed a bit unevenly, else near fine. Full-length portrait of Langdon Mitchell, seated, as an infant in his Christening gown. Subject identified based on inscription in album.

[Page 4]. [WHARTON, Henry]. CDV. Back-mark: J.D. Fowler & Co., opposite U.S. Naval Academy, Newport, RI. Small corner chip to photograph, in no way affecting image of Wharton, else better than very good. Subject identified based on inscription in album. Full-length portrait of Wharton, standing. Henry Wharton (1827-1880) was a long-time friend of Silas Weir Mitchell. He was the son of Thomas Isaac Wharton and, like his father, a prominent Philadelphia attorney.

[Page 5]. FISH, G[eorge]G. CDV. Back-mark: New York Photographic Co., 453 Broadway, New York. Near fine. Reproduction of an 1863 painting signed by Fish, depicting a witch on a broomstick carrying two small children.

[Page 6]. [CONOVER, Thomas Anderson]. CDV. [Circa 1862-1864]. Back-mark: Wenderoth & Taylor, 912-914 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. Very good plus. Subject identified based on inscription in album. Head-shot portrait of Commodore Conover, perhaps in his naval uniform. Thomas Anderson Conover (1794-1864) was a career naval officer from New Jersey. He fought in the War of 1812 and subsequently served in the Mediterranean squadron and elsewhere. In 1857-1858, he commanded the African squadron on the flagship Constitution. When the rank of commodore was created in July, 1862, he was appointed to the rank and placed on the retired list.

[Page 7]. [HENRY, Mrs. S.?]. CDV. Back-mark: F. Gutekunst, 712 Arch St., Philadelphia. Near fine. Subject identified by inscription in album. Half-bust portrait of a woman, presumably a relation of Silas Weir Mitchell on his mother’s side.

[MTICHELL, Edward Donaldson]. HANDCOLORED CDV. [Circa 1862-1864]. Back-mark: M.P. Simons, 1320 Chestnut St., Philadelphia. Some light foxing with negligible impact on image of Mitchell, still bright and about very good. Inscription in album reads: “Cadet Ed’d D. Mitchell.” Edward Donaldson “Ned” Mitchell (1843-1864) was Silas Weir Mitchell’s youngest brother. During the Civil War, he served as a medical cadet at Douglas Hospital in Washington. There, in 1862, he contracted diphtheria and the disease claimed his life two years later.

[Page 8]. CDV depicting an unidentified woman. Back-mark: Wenderoth & Taylor, 912-914 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia.

MITCHELL, Langdon [Elwyn]. CDV. Back-mark: F. Gutekunst, 704 & 706 Arch St., Philadelphia. Near fine. Subject identified by penciled inscription on verso. Depicts Langdon Mitchell as a young boy, in a full-length portrait, seated, wearing a dress.

[Page 9]. [MITCHELL, Langdon Elwyn]. CDV. Near fine. Subject identified by inscription in album. Full-length portrait of Langdon Mitchell as a young boy, seated, wearing a dress or skirt, and holding a hoop.

CDV depicting an unidentified woman. Back-mark: F. Gutekunst, 704 & 706 Arch St., Philada.

[Page 10]. [MITCHELL?]. CDV. Back-mark: Wenderoth, Taylor, & Brown, 912-914 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. Several tiny spots to photograph, still very good. Depicts a man half-bust, in left profile. He is probably a member of the Mitchell family.

CDV depicting unidentified woman. Hand-tinted adding color to cheeks and eyes. Backmark: Alex. Gardner, photographer to the Army of the Potomac, 511 Seventh Street and 332 Pennsylvania Av., published by Philip & Solomons, Washington, D.C.

[Page 11]. CLARK, Thomas M., Rev. CDV SIGNED AND INSCRIBED. 1862. Inscription on verso reads: “Mrs. J.K. Mitchell with the grateful regards of Thomas M. Clark.” Front-mark: McAllister & Brother, 728 Chestnut Street [holder of copyright]; Gutekunst, photographist. Back-mark: F. Gutekunst, 706 Arch Street, Philadelphia. Subject’s name printed at base of recto of card together with copyright notice. Photograph toned and faded, but image still suitable for purposes of identification. Thomas March Clark (1812-1903), a native of Newburyport, Massachusetts, preached in various locales, including Philadelphia, before becoming the Episcopal bishop of Rhode Island in 1854. In 1899, he became bishop of the Episcopal Church in America. He was the author of several books and numerous orations.

CDV of an unidentified young man. Back-mark: Frank Rowell, 25 Westminster Street, Prov[idence], RI.

[Page 12]. [MCBIRNEY?, Mary]. CDV. Subject identified by inscription in album. Minor wear, but very good. Full-length portrait of woman, standing.

[COOPER, Charles De Kay, Rev.]. CDV. Back-mark: M.P. Simons, 1320 Chestnut St., Philada. Near fine. Subject identified by inscription in album. Half-bust portrait. Rev. Charles De Kay Cooper (1813-1902), a native of Albany, was an Episcopal minister who came to Philadelphia by the 1860’s. In 1868, he was the co-founder (with Philips Brooks) of the Church of the Holy Apostles, where he preached for many years.

[Page 13]. [MUTTER, Mrs. Thomas Dent]. CDV. Back-mark: W.F. Burrows, 158 Main St., Middletown, CT. Near fine. Subject identified by inscription in album. Threequarters length portrait of Mrs. Muller, seated.

[MUTTER, Thomas Dent]. CDV. [Circa late 1850’s]. Original albumen photograph measuring 3.25 x 2.5”, trimmed to oval as issued, and mounted on plain card. Half-bust portrait. Subject identified by inscription in album, reading “Dr. Mutter,” and by comparison with published photographs and portraits. Heavy marginal soiling to card, not affecting photograph. Small crease affecting approx. top ¼” of photograph, but with no impact on image of Mutter. The photograph itself otherwise in fine condition. Thomas Dent Mutter (1811-1859) was a prominent Philadelphia physician and the original benefactor of the Mutter Museum in that city. A native of Richmond, Virginia, he obtained his M.D. at the University of Pennsylvania in 1831and afterwards studied medicine in Paris. From 1841 to 1856, he was professor of surgery at Jefferson Medical College. Soon before his death at the age of 48, he donated his extensive collection of anatomical and pathological specimens, plus a trove of prints, photographs, portraits and ephemera of American medical men, to the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. This gift formed the core collection of the Mutter Museum, which was named in his honor and remains a landmark institution of medical history. A handsome portrait of this noted Philadelphian.

[Page 14]. CDV depicting unidentified infant. Back-mark: Wenderoth, Taylor & Brown, 912-914 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia.

[Page 15]. CDV depicting young girl. Back-mark: Bell, 1200 Chestnut St., Philada. Subject identified as “Mary” in album

CDV depicting unidentified woman with waist-length black hair. Back-mark: Wenderoth, Taylor, & Brown, 912-914 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia.

[Page 16]. CDV depicting young girl. Back-mark: Rockwood & Co., 639 Broadway, New York. Inscription in album reads: “Potter.”

[MITCHELL, Langdon Elwyn?]. CDV. Back-mark: O.H. Willard’s, 1206 Chestnut St., Phila. Near fine. Full-length portrait of a young boy, seated, wearing a dress. The subject is probably Langdon Mitchell.

[Page 17]. CDV depicting young girl. Back-mark: Rockwood, 839 Broadway, NY. Inscription in album reads: “Potter.” Subject is the same as the girl in item above.

CDV depicting young boy in dress. Back-mark: Rockwood, 839 Broadway, NY. Inscription in album reads: “Potter.”

[Page 18]. CDV reproducing a painting titled, “All Quiet on the Potomac.” There was a the famous Civil War song with the same title. Back-mark: E. & H.T. Anthony, 501 Broadway, New York.

[No photographs inserted on p. 19].

[Page 20]. [HENRYSON, Alexander]. CDV. Back-mark: M.P. Simons, 1320 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. Very good. Depicts a young man in a head-shot portrait. Subject identified based on inscription in album.

[Page 21]. CDV depicting young girl. Front-mark: Whipple, 297 Washington St., Boston. Inscription in album reads: “Schlesinger.”

ANDREWS, [?]. CDV. Very good. Full-length portrait of a man, standing. Subject identified by penciled inscription on recto of card.

[Page 22]. [HENRY, Theodora]. CDV. Front-mark: D. Hinkle, Germantown. Near fine. Hand-tinted (adding color to cheeks). Head-shot portrait of Henry. Subject identified by inscription in album. She was presumably a relation of Silas Weir Mitchell on his mother’s side of the family.

[HENRY, ?]. CDV. Back-mark: F. Gutekunst, 704 & 706 Arch St., Philadelphia. Headshot portrait of a woman. There is a strong family resemblance (perhaps sororal) between the subject and Theodora Henry (see preceding entry).

[Page 23]. CDV depicting unidentified woman. Back-mark: W. Schaus, 749 Broadway, New York.

CDV reproducing painting of cats, titled on verso: “The Question Settled.” Inscription on verso reads: “J.K. Mitchell May 5, ’68. Good boy.”

[Page 24]. CDV depicting unidentified boy. Back-mark: F. Gutekunst, 704 & 706 Arch St., Philadelphia.

CDV depicting young girl. Faint penciled inscription on verso reads: “Lizzie.” Inscription in album, maybe erroneous, reads: “Andrews.” [The subject is perhaps Elizabeth Kearsley Mitchell, d. 1928, daughter of Nathaniel Chapman Mitchell and niece of S. Weir Mitchell.

[No photographs inserted on p. 25].

[Page 26]. CDV depicting young girl. Back-mark: Henry Ulke, 278 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, D.C. Subject appears to be same girl as in preceding entry.

[Page 27]. KING, Harry. CDV. Back-mark: John A. Whipple, 297 Washington Street, Boston. Small marginal stain, in no way affecting image of King, else near fine. Fulllength portrait of male toddler in dress. Inscription on verso reads: “Harry King, Aug. 14th, ’68. Aged 19 mos.”

M[ITCHELL], J[ohn] K[earsley (II)]. CDV. [Circa 1865]. Back-mark: F. Gutekunst, 704 & 706 Arch St., Philadelphia. Very good plus. Hand-tinted (adding color to cheeks). Full-length portrait of Mitchell as a boy, standing, dressed in plus fours. Identified by inscription on verso.

[Page 28]. CDV reproducing unsigned, untitled painting of a cat.

[Page 29]. MINTOT, [Louisa?]. CDV. Front-mark: Whipple, 297 Washington St., Boston. Very good plus. Full-length portrait of a girl, seated. Inscription on verso reads: “Mintot.” There was a Louisa Mintot who corresponded with Silas Weir Mitchell during the last years of his life (see Burr, pp. 349-352) and who took summer vacations in Bar Harbor.

[Page 30]. [MITCHELL, John Kearsley (II)]. CDV. [Circa 1865]. Back-mark: J.E. McClees, 910 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. Full-length portrait of Mitchell as a boy, standing. This photograph is nearly contemporary (perhaps a year or two later) with the CDV on p. 27.

[Page 31]. ROBINSON, “Missi.” CDV. Back-mark: Rockwood, 839 Broadway, NY. Very good plus. Inscription on verso reads: “`Missi.’ Mrs. Robinson.” Full-length portrait of a girl, seated. Inscription in album, probably erroneous, reads: “Douglas Robinson.” While it is possible that Mrs. Robinson refers to herself, rather than the subject of the photograph as “Missi,” and that the subject of the photograph is indeed Douglas Robinson, the appearance of the subject’s hair and hat, both of which bear bows, strongly suggest that the subject is a girl.

CDV depicting infant. Hand-colored. Back-mark: Gihon & Rixon, 1024 Chestnut St., Philadelphia. Inscription in album reads: “Maural[?]”

[Page 32]. CDV depicting two unidentified children. Back-mark: Wm. H. Rhoads, 1814 Frankford Road, Philadelphia.

CDV depicting male infant. 1865. Back-mark: Edward R. Morgan, 1109 Spring Garden Street, Philadelphia. Very good plus. Full-length portrait of an apparently male infant in Christening gown. Inscription on verso reads: “Thompson, April, 1865.”

[No photographs inserted on p. 33].

[Page 34]. CDV depicting young girl. Back-mark: John L. Gihon, 1024 Chestnut St., Philadelphia. Inscription in album reads: “Wilson.”

[Page 35]. [MITCHELL, Edward Donaldson]. CDV. Circa 186_? Back-mark: M.P. Simons, 1320 Chestnut St., Philadelphia. Slight crease, with negligible impact on image of Mitchell, else very good. [Another example of the same image described above with more biographical information in the item above].

CDV depicting woman. Back-mark: Black & Case, successors to J.W. Black, 163 & 173 Wash. St., Boston and So. Turo St. opp. Naval Academy, Newport, RI. Inscription in album reads: “Guillon.” The subject was perhaps the wife of Philadelphia attorney, Constant Guillon (d. 1872).

[Page 36]. TAPPAN, Winthrop. CDV. Back-mark: Wm. Pierce, Brunswick, ME. Near fine. Half-bust portrait of Tappan. Identification based on penciled inscription on photograph.

CDV depicting unidentified woman. Circa 1860’s. Back-mark: S.A. Cohner, 62 O’Reilly, Habana. Samuel Alexander Cohner, who previously worked at McClees Studio in Washington, was an American photographer in Havana. He was killed in Jan., 1869, during an attack on a café by Cuban rebels.

[Page 37]. ODENHEIMER, Minnie B. CDV SIGNED. 1866. Back-mark: R.M. Tudor, 336 South Fourth Street, Philada. Near fine. Hand-tinted (adding color to cheeks and lips) and hand-painted (depicting top of subject’s dress). Head-shot. Odenheimer signs and dates her name on the verso of the card.

[ELWYN, ?]. CDV. Back-mark: Wenderoth, Taylor & Brown, 912-914 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. Very good. Depicts an infant. Inscription in album reads: “Elwyn.” The subject is probably one of the five children of Rev. Alfred Langdon Elwyn born between 1865 and 1871. Alfred Elwyn was Silas Weir Mitchell’s brother-in-law by his first wife, Mary Middleton Elwyn.

[No photographs inserted on p. 38].

[Page 39]. CDV depicting unidentified man. Back-mark: William Shew, 423 Montgomery Street, San Francisco.

[Page 40]. CDV depicting young girl. Back-mark: F. Gutekunst, 704 & 706 Arch St., Philadelphia, removed to 712 Arch St. Inscription in album reads: “Peale.”

SMITH, R. CDV. Back-mark: F. Gutekunst, 704 & 706 Arch St., Philadelphia. Very good plus. Head-shot portrait of a young boy. Identification based on inscription on verso of card.

[No photographs inserted on p. 41].

[Page 42]. CDV reproducing G. Douglas Brewerton’s painting of the bombardment of “Sumter, April 13, 1861.” 1864. Back-mark: A.A. Turner, 765 Broadway, New York. Very good plus.

CDV depicting girl. 1871. Back-mark: Reichman & Siebert, 459 & 461 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, D.C. Subject bears a resemblance to the second Henry girl depicted on p. 22. [Lengthy inscription on verso, largely unintelligible to us].

[Page 43]. [PACKARD, John Hooker]. CDV. Back-mark: Henry A. Smith, 928 Girard Avenue, Philad’a. Near fine. Half-bust portrait. Subject identified by inscription in album. John Hooker Packard (1832-1907) was a prominent Philadelphia physician and the illustrator of The Children’s Hour, Silas Weir Mitchell’s first book. Packard earned his M.D. at the University of Pennsylvania, studied briefly in Europe, and then worked in various Philadelphia institutions. Like Mitchell, he also served in Union hospitals during the Civil War. Packard was a leader in the early use of anesthesia in this country and one of the original members of the American Surgical Association. He published several medical works, including a Manual of Minor Surgery (1863) and a Handbook of Operative Surgery (1870). He was the father of Francis Randolph Packard (1870-1950), a noted medical historian.

LEAMING, [?]. CDV. 1869. Photographer’s autograph inscription on verso reads: “R.W.L. Photo., June, 1869.” Near fine. Full-bust portrait of a woman, seated. Inscription at base of recto of card reads: “Leaming.”

[Page 44]. POLLARD, [?]. CDV. Back-mark: Wenderoth, Taylor & Brown, 912-914 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. Very good plus. Head-shot portrait of a woman. Inscription at base of recto of card, in pencil, reads: “Miss Pollard.”

CDV depicting unidentified woman. Back-mark: Cremer & Dillon, 18 South Eighth Street, Philadelphia.

[Page 45]. CDV depicting unidentified woman. Back-mark: Wenderoth, Taylor & Brown, 912-914, Chestnut Street, Philadelphia.

LEAMING, [?]. CDV. 1869. Photographer’s autograph inscription on verso reads: “R.W.L. Photo., June, 1869.” Near fine. Full-bust portrait of a woman, seated. Inscription at base of recto of card reads: “Leaming.” This is either the same woman depicted in the item above, in a different dress, pose, and hairstyle, or her sister.

[Page 46]. [MITCHELL, Nathaniel Chapman]. CDV. Back-mark: Wenderoth, Taylor & Brown, 912-914 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. Tiny stain to photograph, not affecting image of Mitchell, else very good plus. Half-bust portrait of one of Silas Weir Mitchell’s younger brothers. Identification based on inscription in album. Nathaniel Chapman Mitchell (1840-1900) came of age as an Union officer in the Civil War. He served as a private and lieutenant in the 15th Illinois Cavalry, before being made major of the 4th U.S. Colored Cavalry in April, 1864. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in the regiment in April, 1865. He engaged in business after the war, and secured several patents for the cleaning and processing of rubber.

TINTYPE CDV depicting unidentified woman. Embossed front-mark reads: “Potters Patent March 7, 1865.”

[Page 47]. [MUTTER, Thomas Dent]. CDV, being a photograph of an earlier photograph.

[TOWNSEND, ?]. CDV. Back-mark: E. Woodward, No. 1, cor. Church & Gay Sts., West Chester. Head-shot portrait of a woman. Inscription in album reads: “Miss Townsend.”

[Page 48]. BUTLER, [Frances] “Fannie” [sic]. CDV. [Circa 1860’s]. Embossed front-mark: Rintoul & Rockwood. Slight marginal soil, still very good plus. Full-length portrait of Miss Butler, standing. Inscription on verso reads: “Miss Fannie Butler, Phil’a.” Frances Ann “Fanny” Butler (1838-1910) was the daughter of the famous actress and memoirist, Fanny Kemble (1809-1893). Silas Weir Mitchell was a friend of Mrs. Kemble and traveled by horseback to visit her when she was residing at York Farm, near Philadelphia. This was during the period after her famous divorce from her slave-owning husband, Pierce Butler. Mitchell also became closely acquainted with Mrs. Kemble’s other daughter, Sarah Butler Wister [see entry #121 for a book inscribed to Wister and more information on this relationship]. Fanny Butler was raised mostly by her father and, unlike her mother and sister, was favorably impressed with Southern institutions. After the Civil War, she moved to Georgia and resided on her father’s plantation. In 1871, she married Rev. James Wentworth Leigh, a British clergyman who had been a defender of slavery. Her memoir of her Georgia experiences, Ten Years on a Georgia Plantation Since the War, 1866-1876 (1883), contradicted the negative assessment of Southern race relations put forth in her mother’s more famous book, Journal of a Residence on a Georgia Plantation, 1838-1839 (1863).

[MITCHELL, Robert Walsh]. CDV. [Circa 1860’s]. Front-mark: Osler, 1924 Chestnut Street, Phila. Minor wear to card, else near fine. Identification based on inscription in album, reading: “Captain Robert Walsh Mitchell.” Half-bust portrait of one of Silas Weir Mitchell’s younger brothers as an adult, in civilian clothes. Walsh Mitchell (1836-1872) served the Union as a captain in the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry. Weir Mitchell remembered his brother as a “strong-willed, unruly, excitable person … [who] was – even as a lad, conspicuous for courage – a lover of danger” –qtd. in Burr, p. 34. As a result, Walsh became involved in a number of entanglements and scandals throughout his life, which are described only in the vaguest terms by Weir Mitchell’s biographers. In the late 1850’s, he traveled to Panama, worked on a railroad, and reputedly fought in a duel. After serving in the Civil War, he again wandered, traveling to Alaska, and perhaps other places, before arriving in St. Kitts in the Caribbean. In 1866, Weir Mitchell complained of “Walsh’s deeps of moral degradation” (ibid, p. 148) and, in 1871, noted that he expended $720 to help his brother out of some difficulty. By that time his brother’s health was failing, and when Walsh last wrote to Weir from Saint Kitts, he was being treated by a doctor for a “severe hemorrhage” (ibid). The cause of this hemorrhage, like much of Walsh’s life, remains unknown, but it claimed his life. He died on Saint Kitts on April 10, 1872 at the age of 36 or 37. [See item #366 below for the first of several photographs documenting his untimely demise]. Despite Walsh’s failings,Weir Mitchell honored his brother’s memory, displaying Walsh’s sword from the Civil War above his hearth and recounting his war-time gallantry to friends and family.

[Page 49]. SCHURZ, Carl Lincoln. CDV. 1871. Backmark: Bogardus, 1153 Broadway, New York. Very good. Half-bust portrait of Schurz as infant. Identification based on presentation inscription by family member on verso. Carl Lincoln Schurz was the first-born son of Carl Schurz (1829-1906), a German exile of the 1848 revolutions, Union general, U.S. Senator, U.S. Secretary of the Interior, and journalist. The younger Schurz became a prominent attorney in New York. The presentation inscription reads: “To my dear Mama Mitchie, from sister. Carl Lincoln Schurz, 4 months old. Remember the days on Bishopthorpe, Aug., 28, 1871.”

[TENNYSON, Alfred]. CDV reproducing a painting of Tennyson. Back-mark: Gihon & Rixon, 1024 Chestnut St., Philadelphia.

[Page 50]. [HENRY, Ely]. CDV. Back-mark: D. Hinkle, 4741 Main St., Germantown. Near fine. Halfbust portrait. Inscription in album reads: “Aunt Ely Henry.” The subject was evidently a relation of Silas Weir Mitchell on his mother’s side of the family.

CDV depicting “Silver Cascade [a waterfall], near St. Anthony.” Back-mark: Whitney, St. Paul, MN.