Captain Boyton in Grünau, 1878 – Rare Hand-Colored Carte-de-Visite
 
This unusual carte-de-visite presents a studio portrait of Captain Paul Boyton, the famous American aquatic adventurer and inventor of the rubber immersion suit, who gained international celebrity in the 1870s for long-distance swims in rivers and seas.
Uniquely, this CDV has photographs mounted on both the obverse and reverse sides, a format rarely encountered in standard commercial production.
The obverse image shows Boyton seated semi-nude atop a studio prop box marked "Grünau 2.7.78," commemorating his appearance on the Dahme River at Grünau (today part of Berlin) on July 2, 1878. He holds a dark paddle upright in his right hand and wears his trademark bathing suit and cap decorated with red, white, and blue accents, hand-tinted to enhance the visual impact. A blue painted border along the lower margin is intended to evoke water.
The reverse image depicts Boyton from the back, similarly posed, seated on a box labeled "Captain Boyton's Album." His tricolor sash is clearly visible, and the paddle is held vertically in the same position.
These dual-sided photographic cards functioned as both souvenirs and promotional material for Boyton's exhibitions, when he demonstrated the buoyant rubber suit and the ability to paddle and float for extended periods.
 
This is a carte-de-visite (CDV), a small-format albumen print mounted on cardstock, a popular photographic medium between the 1860s and 1880s. The presence of images on both sides is atypical and suggests a special issue or enhanced souvenir version.
 
Process: Albumen prints on thin paper, mounted on each face of a standard CDV board.
Hand Coloring: Selective tinting applied by hand in blue, red, and flesh tones, typical of 19th-century commercial portrait studios.
Studio Setting: The subject is posed against a plain backdrop, with props and signboards added to identify the event.
 
For reference, this style of publicity portrait is discussed in John Hannavy’s Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography (2008) and can be compared to other CDV portraits of popular personalities and touring performers.
 
Photographer
No photographer’s imprint is visible on the mounts. This is consistent with smaller German studios that produced souvenir CDVs for public sale. Attribution remains anonymous without additional verso information.
 
Approximate card dimensions:
Height: 10.5 cm (4.1 in)
Width: 6.3 cm (2.5 in)
 
Date
Dated July 2, 1878 (2.7.78) by inscription, matching Captain Boyton’s European exhibitions of that summer.
 
Condition
Mount: Moderate wear, notably softened corners, and slight soiling consistent with handling and age.
Print Surface: Good tonal range with stable albumen emulsion. Some minor surface abrasions.
Hand Coloring: Remains vivid, though blue pigment shows rubbing along lower edge.
Overall: A well-preserved, visually striking 19th-century CDV, rare for its subject, hand-colored presentation, and the uncommon feature of photographs mounted on both sides.