Like many politicians of his generation, Virginia Representative John Harris went to the studio of the famous photographer Mathew Brady to have his portrait made. Publisher Edward Anthony’s firm in turn distributed the civil rights-opposing Representative’s photo as a carte-de-visite, as they did with many of Brady’s negatives. Public figures—actors, performers, politicians, and others—frequently appeared on these calling card–sized images, which were used for promotion, and fervently collected during the mid-19th century.
