Family Portrait in Honor of a Baptism

Identifier

PUA_MS154_040

Title

Family Portrait in Honor of a Baptism

Description

A photograph of a photograph of a family, probably taken circa 1910-1914. It shows what appears to be a mother, father, their son aged around 3 or 4, and their baby. The baby appears to be wearing a Christening gown, while the other family members are wearing formal clothes. The baby is posed on a cushion but is oriented as if he is about to be baptised, with the mother's arm almost cradling his head, and both parents looking at the baby. The original photograph was probably taken to celebrate the baby's baptism. The photograph of the photograph may have been taken in order to supply a copy of the image. The family may have been relatives of the photographer, William Alonso Clapshaw.

This is one image from a set of glass plate negatives created by William Alonso Clapshaw. Clapshaw was a clerk and shopkeeper who lived near Forest Grove, Oregon for most of his life. He was born in 1880, probably at the family's home in the Hillside neighborhood of Forest Grove, on what is now Clapshaw Hill Road east of Gales Creek. Around 1910-1914, William took an interest in photography and created a set of glass plate negatives documenting scenes near his family's lands as well as images of himself, his friends and family members. He most likely used a silver gelatin dry plate process. The photographs were donated to the Pacific University Archives in 2023.

Creator

Clapshaw, William Alonso, 1880-2019

Date: Year(s)

1910/1914

Date: Display

circa 1910-1914

Subject

Baptism

Portraits

Photography of families

Place

Oregon

Medium

Gelatin silver negatives

Source

Pacific University Archives

Copyright

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/