[William Kelly, 1811-1888]

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William Kelly is the only subject named here, and the record gives us little beyond his dates, 1811 to 1888, and the fact that this is an engraving. Kelly was a 19th-century figure whose life spanned the decades before and after the Civil War, a period when engraved portraits circulated widely in books, newspapers and magazines and were often the main way ordinary readers saw a notable person's face. Because no date appears on the caption card, the print's exact year of production is uncertain, though its engraved technique places it within the long span of the 19th century. Viewers interested in the piece should look at the engraver's line work and the composition for clues to its origin.

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