This is a sepia-toned 19th Century Cabinet Card of Parents with Daughter by Carson of Hillsdale, Michigan. The 6.5" high by 4.25" wide studio photograph shows a mother and father, each seated in a fringed velvet chair, with their adolescent daughter standing behind them, leaning on the back of her father's chair with crossed arms. The mother holds a closed book on her lap and, interestingly, she is the only one looking directly at the camera. The bearded father looks off to his left with his legs crossed and his hands in his lap, while the daughter stares over the shoulder of the photographer to her right. No one is smiling. They are all dressed in their finest clothing with both women wearing dresses decorated with velvet and silk bows. The girl also wears a doubled gold chain which loops from her top button to her right shoulder. The painted backdrop of decorative column and foliage can be seen off to each side of the photograph. The photographer, James Carson, had a checkered history: he had a gallery in Toronoto (at one time with a photographer named Graham), absconded to the states and eloped with his cousin in Hillsdale, Michigan. He was subsequently jailed and was written up mercilessly in the local papers. "Hillsdale," Carson Mich" appears in gold below the photograph. The sides of the board have been painted gold, while the back is unembelllished pink. This 19th Century Cabinet Card of Parents with Daughter by Carson of Hillsdale, Michigan is in Very Good condition. The photograph has no damage or wear but the board is very slightly warped.