Carte-de-visite portrait photograph of famous heavyset "fat woman" identified in period pencil on the reverse as "Madame Wells" and “Mrs. Wells.” The sitter faces the camera in a studio bust-length pose wearing a dark dress trimmed with ruffled decoration and a floral hair ornament. Her hairstyle, jewelry, and dress details reflect fashionable urban portraiture of the late nineteenth century. The mount bears the imprint “Eisenmann, Photo., 229 Bowery, N.Y.” beneath the image.


The photograph was produced by Charles Eisenmann, one of New York’s best-known Bowery photographers. Eisenmann is widely recognized for photographing performers, entertainers, and unusual subjects associated with dime museums and popular entertainment venues in New York during the late nineteenth century. His studio portraits are frequently encountered in cartes-de-visite and cabinet card formats and are closely associated with the vibrant entertainment culture surrounding the Bowery and Broadway theaters.


The reverse features Eisenmann’s distinctive illustrated studio backmark showing a figure standing atop a globe with the wording “Instantaneous Photographs” and the slogan “The Popular Photographer.” A visually appealing example of a Bowery studio portrait by a photographer closely linked to New York’s entertainment and curiosity culture of the period.