Young man with pitchfork, Studio Maignet, Paris, date unknown
I collect old portrait cards all over the world but it was the semiotics of this one that intrigued me
Portraits of African elites in India 500 years ago
Who knew Africans ruled parts of India, including Bengal, centuries ago?
On the Mario Testino exhibit in Buenos Aires
In Mario Testino’s work everyone always looks like they’re having fun
Susanita in Mar Del Plata, Argentina, 1914
A too-grown-up girl bearing a Diane Arbus expression a century ago on an Argentine beach
Portrait of a boy, Paris, early-20th C
A magnificent portrait found in Paris leads to two legendary photographers
In Paris, this photo is illegal
Street photography is against the law in the place in which it was born
Did the Renaissance invent individuality in portraiture?
Andrew Butterfield says yes; the Fayum portraits suggest no
Portraits from Lima, Peru, 1916
Tiny pictures from Peru of men in uniform and the women they courted
What to make of this 19th C. Arab-Chinese-Peruvian portrait?
Long distance cultural exchange began much earlier than we sometimes imagine
The Gaddafi family photo album
Gaddafi made himself a celebrity. Is that why the Times decided to publish his stolen family album?
An evocative group portrait at a cafe in Egypt, 1934
A moment captured during an outing to Roda island in the 1930s
Debonair portrait: Pontremoli, Italy, 1920
A debonair young man in the 1920s sends his greetings to a lady
Portrait of a couple: Florence, Italy, c1900
A couple on the outskirts of Florence have their portrait taken in the early-1900s
