Portret van Charles H. Gere en John Q. Brownlee before 1871

This is a photographic portrait of Charles H. Gere and John Q. Brownlee, bound into a publication of the Nebraska State Journal in Lincoln, Nebraska. Though undated, we can assume it was made in the late nineteenth century. This image presents us with several entry points for historical investigation. Photography, like other forms of portraiture, was undergoing democratization at this time as new printing technologies allowed newspapers and periodicals to include accurate likenesses of public figures. The image and accompanying text demonstrate a desire to commemorate individual lives and link them to national narratives. Gere’s ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War, and his life story takes him from New York to Nebraska, mirroring a larger story of westward expansion. To understand this image, historians might consult census records, local histories, and archives of the Nebraska State Journal, thereby connecting these figures to broader stories of social and institutional development.