(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved. Contact us for information about using this image.
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Photography, which began with the dageurrotype in 1839, was a booming business by the time of the Civil War. Having one's photograph "taken" was quicker and much cheaper than having a picture painted by an artist. Photographers were setting up shops in market towns and traveling to the smaller towns on assignment. George Sheldon (1818-1916) of Deerfield, Massachusetts, was in Boston in the 1860s as a representative to the General Court from Deerfield and probably sat for this picture at that time.