[EARLY PHOTOGRAPHY]. Boston School, attrib. Half plate daguerreotype of Stephen Minot Weld, Boston Brahmin and namesake of Weld Hall at Harvard.

Bust portrait of Weld, with slightly grizzled beard and serious expression, looking off-camera. (Light tarnishing and scratching along mat opening, few spots to plate, heavy spotting/oxidation to mat and preserver; resealed.) Housed in a push-button case (non-functioning closure). Pencil inscription on case interior behind image reads, "Weld." Weld's face and the center of his upper body are in sharp focus, while the edges of his head, neck, and shoulders appear soft and out of focus.

Stephen Minot Weld (1806-1867) opened a boys' school in Roxbury in 1827, and served as schoolmaster for 3 decades, overseeing the education of many Harvard-bound pupils throughout his tenure, including many from outside of the United States. His connection to Harvard University did not end there, however, as he also campaigned for reform allowing Harvard alumni to choose the members of the institution's Board of Overseers, a body he would eventually join. After his passing, his older brother, William Fletcher Weld, financed the building of a dormitory at Harvard in the younger Weld's honor.

Weld was also a strong supporter of the Union, notably helping recruit troops during the Civil War, and also serving as a presidential elector for Abraham Lincoln in 1864. His son, Stephen Minot Weld Jr. (1842-1920), joined the Union cause as a second lieutenant at the age of 19, and distinguished himself so much that he was ultimately brevetted a brigadier general, being nominated by President Andrew Johnson in January of 1866.

Early Photography Collection of Jules Martino, Silverton, Oregon