PHOTOGRAPH ALBUM in miniature. Abr[aham] Taber and Bro[ther]. New Bedford. [Massachusetts]. c. 1872–1875.

Miniature "gem" portrait album containing 24 original, one-of-a-kind miniature tintype photographs, all Caucasian youths apart from the final one, all formally attired. Each thick card page has an rectangular aperture and a baroque gilt printed border. All edges gilt. No inscriptions. 41 x 44 mm. Original full red roan; spine with reverse blocked title within central abstract motif with gilt head and tail pieces; covers blind stamped with central floral motif within double fillet borders and corner-pieces. Original brass clasp and fittings. Edges and corners with light rubbing and some mild stains. Head and tail of spine worn away. The 24 portraits represent a complete, closed Victorian social or family network and provides an exceptional domestic portrait record from New Bedford at the height of its whaling-era wealth. In the 1860s and 1870s, multi-lens cameras allowed photographers to shoot several tiny portraits—often called "gem" tintypes on a single metal sheet. Because they were inexpensive and durable, tintypes became the first form of mass portraiture. Miniature pocket albums were explicitly manufactured to house these tiny, portable, and unique images.