Carte-de-visite of a young boy identified as Hubert Gideon Welles, dressed in an outfit said to be sewn by Elizabeth Keckley. The child wears a light colored blouse under a checked long sleeve jacket, fastened closed at the collar. On the bottom he wears a matching checked skirt with a wide solid color band towards the hem. The child stands next to an ornate wood chair, holding on to the chair back. On the reverse of the card is text that reads "HENRY ULKE, / 278 Pennsylvania Avenue, / Washington, D.C. / 1865."
This portrait depicts Mary Jane Hale Welles, wife of Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles, in a funeral dress. The dress is said to have been sewn and designed by Elizabeth Keckley for the funeral of her son Hubert Gideon Welles in 1862, and again worn by Welles at the funeral of President Lincoln in 1865.
Description
This is a cabinet card portrait of Mary Jane Hale Welles in a funeral dress, on a Henry Ulke mount that has a narrow black border. This full length portrait shows Mary Jane Hale Welles standing in a three quarters turn away from the camera. Wearing a dark colored full-length dress with a train and a dark colored lace shawl, she gazes directly at the viewer. Her right hand rests on a small side table next to her with two books stacked on it. The print is on a card mount with text on the reverse that reads "Henry Ulke, / 278 Pennsylvania Avenue. / Washington, D.C. / 1866."