You would be hard put to come up with finer examples of the studio photographer's art than these portraits of a little girl about 4 years old, taken by Kimball of Concord, New Hampshire.
A seamless background has been used so there are no lines or shadows to distract from the figure and the simple elegance of the chair. The photographer lights the area evenly and naturally. His skill with children is evident by the way he allows her to assume her own stance, and he knows enough to give her a pillow so that her feet will not dangle above the floor and cause her to assume an awkward pose; she does not smile but she is obviously not at all uncomfortable with him.
These portrait prints do not appear to have been removed from their folders since they came from the photographer, indeed they show no signs of having been viewed and certainly never displayed – which leads me to wonder if there was another pose from this visit that the family preferred and these were just never used (virtual rejects)!
This child is not wearing hightop boots or shoes, a rarity to be sure – patent leather Mary Janes with rhinestone buckles! These are surely early 20th century, but the chair may have already been an antique from the 1870s when all things oriental were the rage.