A young boy sits on an ornately carved studio bench holding two ventriloquist dummies, one on each knee, in this full-length cabinet card produced by H.J. Gover and Co., Artists and Photographers, 53 Piccadilly, Hanley, with the studio imprint in script along the lower front border and the full reverse imprint in decorative typography. The boy appears to be approximately eight to ten years of age, presenting this as either a child performer's promotional portrait or a novelty family photograph with the dummies treated as props.
The boy wears a dark double-breasted jacket with knee breeches, dark stockings, and lace-up boots, a watch chain visible at his chest, and looks directly at the camera with a composed expression. The dummy at his left knee is dressed in a boy's sailor-collar coat with dark curly hair and an open hinged mouth. The dummy at his right knee wears a girl's dark dress with a large lace collar and light curled hair, its expression more placid. A heavily patterned velvet drape fills the background and a carved side table with scroll and foliate decoration is visible at left.
The reverse bears the full H.J. Gover and Co. imprint identifying the studio as Artists and Photographers at 53 Piccadilly, Hanley, with printed assurances that negatives were preserved and copies could be ordered at any time, enlarged or reduced and finished in oil or watercolor. The penciled catalog notation reads "8/19/07 / DOLAXCZ / Eb."
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