National Museum of American History
Watercolor Painting Depicting the Bennet Family Record
Bennet, Jonathan · April 12, 1804
The practice of recording family likenesses predates the 1839 invention of photography by thousands of years, as seen in sculptures and paintings. Illuminated family records commemorated births, deaths, and marriages. This watercolor family record from Poland, Maine, recorded the marriage of Miss Betty Haskel and Mr. Jonathan Bennet, as well as the birth dates of their nine children.
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