Name/Title
A carte de visite portrait of man, identified as the mayor of Los Angeles, ca. 1864.Entry/Object ID
2012.530.1.1Description
A carte de visite portrait of man, identified as the mayor of Los Angeles, R.M. and E. S. Linn, ca. 1864. The view is an head and upper torso view of a balding man with a beard who wears a dark suit, white shirt and dark cravat. An ink inscription at the top of the reverse reads "The mayor of Los Angeles / 1860." The cartouche for the brother photographers, based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is on the back, as well. The Linn brothers set up a photo business at Lookout Mountain, Tennessee in late 1863 after leaving their native Ohio. If this photo was taken in Tennessee, the photo would have to have been on Damien Marchessault, who was mayor of Los Angeles for part of 1860, because the other man in office that year, Henry Mellus, died while incumbent. Moreover, photos of Mellus do not resemble the man in this image, so it is presumed to be Marchessault, of whom no surviving photos are known to exist. With some soiling, small stains and abrasions along the edge, the condition is good.Lexicon
Legacy Lexicon
Object Name
Carte-de-visites
