This image was photographed by J. M. Munson of Madison, South Dakota. The photograph was taken after 1889, the date of South Dakota Statehood. Photographs before 1889 would print the location as “Dakota Territory”. The couple in this image are an attractive pair. The woman subject is wearing a pretty dress, a ring, a collar pin and a bow in her hair. The gentleman is well groomed and dressed in a fancy suit. The photographer of this portrait is John M. Munson. He and his family appear in the U. S. Census of 1900. He was working as a photographer and living with his wife and daughter in Madison. He was 50 years old, his wife (Ada) was 41 years old, and his daughter Josephine was 6 years old. He and his wife had been married in 1882. The census indicated that Munson was born in 1849 in Ohio. A 1909 South Dakota business directory lists his Madison photography studio. The 1910 census confirms that he still worked as a proprietor of a photography business and lived with his family. The 1920 census finds Munson unemployed, or retired, and still living with his wife and daughter. (SOLD)
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