The telephone baby – Historic Reproduction
(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)
Description
This historic photograph of The telephone baby brings a moment of history to your wall. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.
Order it framed and ready to hang, or unframed to match a frame you already love. Perfect for a home, office, library or classroom wall, and a gift with a story behind it. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past has been bringing history to the wall since 2001, for tens of thousands of customers worldwide.
The telephone baby
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A baby posed with a telephone receiver is the detail that sets this print apart from other turn-of-the-century images of children. Around 1901, telephones were still a novelty in many American homes, and photographers and postcard makers often staged playful scenes that showed young children imitating adult habits. Pictures like this one turned a new piece of technology into a joke about how early a child could learn to use it. The caption card lists only the subjects "Children" and "Telephones," so the maker and original purpose are not recorded, but the image reflects the lighthearted sentimentality common in photography of that period.
| Created / published | c1901. |
|---|---|
| Medium | 1 photographic print. |
| Notes | This record contains unverified, old data from caption card. Caption card tracings: Children; Telephones. |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 1,110 × 1,536 px · prints to 4 × 5 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | AMZ-SOTP-HPA-144240 |
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