Signed carte-de-visite portrait of photographer James Presley Ball

J. P. Ball & Son, American, 1845 - 1904 · 1860s

An albumen print, carte-de-visite studio portrait of early Black photographer James Presley Ball. The photograph depicts Ball in his own studio, standing on diamond-patterned carpet, his proper right hand resting atop an ornately carved pedestal. He is turned slightly away from the camera, looking straight ahead. He wears a dark frock coat and trousers and holds a stove pipe top hat in his proper left hand, which rests against his left hip. The print is on an off-white card mount with a double gilt border. There are no marks or inscriptions on the recto; it is inscribed on the verso [Respectfully / J.P. Ball].