Photography, which began with the dageurrotype in 1839, was a booming enterprise by the time of the Civil War (1861-1865). Having one’s photograph “taken” was quicker and much less expensive than having a portrait painted by an artist. 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 by the Boston photographers, the Fisher Brothers.