Prescott H. Butler 1869

This is a photographic portrait of Prescott H. Butler, though we don’t know who took it or when. What we do have is a portrait of a man whose image circulates in institutional settings. Two images of the same man have been placed side-by-side in an album. One is cropped into an oval, and the other is rectangular. This suggests that the image has been recontextualized, and that we are seeing a man at two distinct moments in his life. The careful placement of these images within an album indicates a desire to preserve a specific narrative or identity. Consider the cultural role of portraiture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Photography was not just a medium for capturing likeness but also a tool for constructing and reinforcing social hierarchies. The formal attire, the carefully posed stances, and the very act of creating and preserving such images speak to a certain level of social standing and a desire to project a particular image to the world. Historians can piece together the cultural meaning of this work through sources such as genealogical records or institutional archives.