Frederick Harold Bailey (b. 1865) 1886 - 1887

Curator: We're looking at a cabinet card portrait of Frederick Harold Bailey, created by Pach Brothers. The mount measures about 16 by 10 centimeters. Editor: There's a real sense of dignity there, isn't there? Almost melancholic, but undeniably refined. The lighting really softens his features. Curator: The Pach Brothers were quite a successful studio, known for their portraiture of academics and notable figures. This image is a physical object, a printed photograph mounted on card stock, mass-produced yet still unique. Editor: And you can imagine the ritual of it all. The sitting itself, the careful posing, the weighty expectation of posterity! It's quite potent. Curator: Indeed, such portraits were material affirmations of social status and identity. Editor: Well, I'm definitely seeing the echoes of a different time, a sort of wistful respectability. Curator: Thinking about the materiality of this photograph certainly gives us a deeper understanding of its context. Editor: Absolutely, and for me, a little window into a bygone soul.