Before the advent of photography, there were limited ways to produce accurate likenesses of people. As an alternative to paintings, drawings and sculptures, silhouettes — hand-cut from paper — were a relatively affordable way to remember loved ones.
The bust silhouettes below, created by artist Charles Willson Peale, were cut from the middle of white paper, and mounted on black. None of the subjects of these portraits are identified.
SEE MORE HERE: See 11 amazing hand-cut antique silhouette portraits from the 1920s
