Studio cabinet card depicting J.B. Weigand, identified as the photographer and proprietor, posed with his large-format bellows camera in Marathon, Wisconsin. Standing confidently beside a draped table that supports the camera, Weigand places one hand on the camera’s focusing knob while the other rests at his vest, accentuating a period-appropriate watch chain and three-piece suit. The studio backdrop features ornate architectural elements and patterned curtains, providing a visually rich setting indicative of late 19th-century portrait studios.

The bottom mount is elegantly stamped “J. B. Weigand, Marathon, Wis.,” identifying both the subject and his studio location. Photographer portraits with their own equipment are highly sought after as both occupational studies and personal declarations of professional identity. The detailed presence of the camera—a bellows-style view camera common to the era—emphasizes the pride and technical craft of a working small-town photographer at the turn of the century.

Images like this not only document early photographic practice in rural America but also serve as rare self-representations from within the field. A compelling artifact from the Midwest’s local studio tradition.