This is a cabinet card portrait of a very distinguished looking man photographed in Jackson, Michigan. The man is well dressed and his hair is styled. Pencilled on the back of this photograph are the words “this is your great great grandpa Meserill (sp). The photographer of this photograph is John W. Paine (1844-?). Information appears about this photographer in a book titled The History of Jackson County Michigan (1881). Paine started his studio in Jackson in 1868 on a shoestring budget. He had 3 dollars worth of supplies and no chair. For his first three years he specialized in ferreotypes. He expanded the business into larger quarters at least three times. The studio that produced this cabinet card existed sometime after 1877. He learned the skills of his profession in Adrion, Michigan in 1861. He married Beatrice (Weaver) Jenkins in 1879. He was a mason.
DISTINGUISHED LOOKING BEARDED MAN IN JACKSON, MICHIGAN
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 