Carte de visite by Thomas Rice Burnham of Boston, Mass. A mustachioed men kicks up his feet and glances at a paper of unknown origin.
The photographer, Thomas Rice Burnham, embarked on his career in Portland, Maine, in 1858, following his older brother, John, into the photographic arts. Thomas assisted his brother prior to opening his own gallery. The following year, the brothers formed a partnership.
By 1865, Burnham had relocated to Boston and spent the better part of the next three decades as a photographer in the city. In the late 1860s, Boston photographers formed an association, electing Burnham secretary.
In 1869, Burnham won a $50 prize for the best negative in a contest sponsored by the “The Philadelphia Photographer” magazine. According to a report announcing the winner, "We have a photograph of the interior of his studio before us. It is one of the roughest-looking places we have ever seen first-class work made in, and defies the art of our engraver to reproduce it. It is what is known in Boston as a saddle light, facing east and west, with an inclination to the south, and the side-light running to the floor. The height from the floor to the lower part of the top-light is 11 feet, and the room is 23 feet wide by 106 feet long. The instrument used by Mr. Burnham was an extra whole-size, made by the Willard Manufacturing Company, New York. Its excellence cannot be overrated. A lens that will make such a picture is, indeed, a prize, and we know that there are a number of just such prizes in existence. Sharp, round, bold, splendid field, depth, illumination—all one could desire.”
In 1886, Burnham received a special prize awarded at the photographer's annual convention in St. Louis. “The Boston Weekly Globe" reported, “Thomas R. Burnham, the photographer, made the largest dry plate negative ever attempted, the achievement being regarded by connoisseurs generally as extraordinary. The plate measured 3x6 feet, and the picture was a life-size, three-quarter length portrait of a lady. This immense photograph excited considerable interest at the photographer's annual convention, recently held at St. Louis, where it was exhibited, as the pictures next in size measured only 30x42 inches.”
Other photographs of ladies landed Burnham in trouble the following year. “The Boston Globe” reported that police seized 150 negatives of nude women and men (mostly women) and a book of about 50 photographs of women “in postures and attitudes the most indecent.” Two officers arrested Burnham on a charge of selling obscene pictures. The article notes, “Most of the women had masks over their faces. It is asserted that many of them are well known society girls. It is stated that the arrest was instigated by several indignant mothers, whose daughters have been acting as models for Mr. Burnham.” The municipal court judge referred the case to superior court, and its outcome has not yet been found.
Burnham died of stomach cancer in 1893 at age 59. His wife, Mary, survived him.
I encourage you to use this image for educational purposes only. However, please ask for permission.
