Saami boy

Studio portrait of a Saami boy, standing, wearing an animal skin jacket and holding a crossbow, described on the printed caption as being from Vadsø in Finnmark, Norway.

Photographer: Marcus Selmer studio (Bergen, Norway), labelled ‘M. Selmer’
Date of photograph: Circa 1862–1866
Continent: Europe
Geographical area: Northern Europe
Country: Norway
Region/Place: Bergen
Cultural group: European Finnish
Format: Carte de visite, hand-coloured
Size: 105 x 62 mm
Acquisition: Joan Evans. Donated August 1941

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Primary documentation: ‘[p.588] Dr. JOAN EVANS, from the property of the late SIR ARTHUR EVANS, Youlbury, Boars Hill, Oxford. [List of items follows]’; ‘[p.590] 38 photographs, many coloured, of Lapp types, in box’: Pitt Rivers Museum accession records (Donations X, 1937–1941), pp.588, 590. Notes on mount: ‘54. Finnegut fra Vadsø’ (caption pasted on mount card); ‘M. SELMER/ Photograph./ BERGEN’ (printed on reverse of mount card).

Research notes: This carte de visite has been identified as a photograph by Marcus Selmer, taken from the printed information on the reverse. Marcus Selmer (1819–1900) was a Danish pharmacist who came to Bergen in 1852 and established a portrait studio there, specialising in photographing people in local costume.