Series II: Carte-de-Visite Format Portraits

Series II contains approximately 5,300 albumen portraits of men, women, children, and groups, made from carte-de-visite format negatives. They date between 1861 and 1869. The prints are in a uniform 3.25 by 2 inches size, and are arranged alphabetically by sitter name, when the written name is legible, with the many unnamed portraits arranged separately. The sitters in Series II are primarily upper-middle class New York City residents and visitors to the city. The collection is nearly evenly divided between portraits of men and women, including four portraits of African Americans. Two women, one labeled Harris/Paris and one Johnson, and one man also labeled Johnson, are photographed individually. A portrait of a Mr. Price includes his attendant, an unnamed African American man, standing beside him.

Along with portraits of adults, the collection also contains over eight hundred images of children. This includes individual portraits as well as group portraits of children with their parents or siblings. Infants are usually shown on a parent's lap, with only the adult's hand, arm or chin visible. Often the children are dressed up for the occasion and are photographed with props such as books, toys or dolls.

Unknown sitters and groups are organized by gender, or when recognized, by subject. There are also images of copy work and proofs of published work in this series as well.