This silhouette was taken of a father by his son, Dr. Edward Hitchcock (1793-1864), in February, 1822, when the parent was seventy years old. An inexpensive way to preserve the likeness of a person, the silhouette was usually cut from black paper and mounted on a sheet of white paper before framing. The subject, Justin Hitchcock (1752-1822), learned the trade of hatter in Springfield, Massachusetts, and came to Deerfield, Massachusetts,  in 1774. He was a hatter, Revolutionary soldier, and later, music director at the meetinghouse.