Late 19th-century cabinet card portrait of a young boy with a pronounced bilateral neck mass, most likely a large goiter or congenital tumor, posed with remarkable composure in a formal studio setting. The boy stands with a direct, self-possessed gaze, his hand resting on an ornate wicker chair draped with a patterned textile, and his hat held in the other. He wears a tailored short-pants suit with a wide bow tie and lace-up boots, suggesting a sense of personal dignity despite his condition. The composition is lushly appointed, with a painted backdrop of foliage and a classical vase lending the image a theatrical quality typical of period studio portraiture.

Photographed by Saylor’s New York Gallery at 641 N. Sixth Street, Reading, Pennsylvania, as embossed on the mount. The verso bears the penciled inscription “W. Shealer / Paid,” possibly identifying the subject. Portraits of individuals with visible medical anomalies were sometimes commissioned for private family documentation, while others circulated in public as part of early ethnographic, medical, or sideshow-related interest. This image occupies a poignant space between medical curiosity and dignified portraiture.

An evocative and rare survivor offering insight into 19th-century attitudes toward visible difference, medical conditions, and personal presentation.