Edwin Booth (1833-1893) 1869 - 1874

Curator: This is a gelatin silver print made sometime between 1869 and 1874. The subject is Edwin Booth, as captured by Jeremiah Gurney. Editor: There's an incredible weight to this portrait, isn't there? It's more than just a likeness; I can almost sense the soulfulness and quiet melancholy radiating from him. He seems like a haunted figure caught in a timeless pose. Curator: That feeling resonates for me. There's something particularly affecting about encountering images of figures like Booth who navigated both towering success and unspeakable tragedy. Think about the resonance that his face—particularly his eyes—held in the wake of the Lincoln assassination. Editor: Absolutely. The eyes here draw me in – their subtle sadness feels profoundly archetypal, like Hamlet staring into eternity. Even the way his dark, ruffled hair seems to resist order, suggesting a troubled spirit beneath the veneer of societal expectations. The oval frame, which, I admit, I find a little stifling for him, perhaps represents the confines of fame. Curator: I see what you mean. He *was* known for playing rather morose figures. It's also hard not to notice the precise detail Gurney captured using photography: the fall of the light on his brow, or even the precise set of his brow. They add depth to his expression. We understand why he captivated audiences. There's a vulnerability to Booth despite the almost arrogant flare of his suit jacket. Editor: I also appreciate how gelatin-silver prints possess this capacity for stark realism blended with a certain romantic haze—allowing the symbolic weight of the individual to merge effortlessly with the textures and emotions it evokes. The muted tones contribute to a sense of the past bearing down, too. Curator: Definitely. Looking at it again I appreciate that these subtleties invite further speculation. It certainly speaks to Booth's character and also perhaps reveals something about his public persona in the era that so rapidly embraced photographs as ways of holding onto celebrity and remembrance. Editor: In some ways, viewing it now feels akin to deciphering relics or unlocking secrets buried within an almost ghostly reflection. A meditation on performance, memory and loss.