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Primary sourcePhotograph1848

Susan B. Anthony at Age 28

J. H. Kent · 1848

A sepia cabinet-card portrait of Susan B. Anthony taken in 1848, around the time she turned 28, when she was working as a teacher.

Depicts Anthony as a young teacher before her reform career began.

Sepia cabinet card portrait of a seated woman with hair pulled back, wearing a plaid shawl and white collar, hands folded in her lap. Handwritten caption reads Susan B. Anthony 1820 - Feb. 15 - 1848 and studio mark J. H. Kent, 48 East Ave, Rochester NY.
J. H. Kent, Portrait of Susan B. Anthony, age 28, 1848.

About this source

What it is

This is a studio portrait photograph showing a seated young woman in a plaid shawl with a white collar, hands folded in her lap. A handwritten caption identifies her as Susan B. Anthony, with a studio mark from a Rochester, NY photographer.

Why it matters

This image shows Anthony before she became known as a reformer, during her years as a Quaker-raised teacher. It offers a rare glimpse of her life before her public activism began, helping students see her as a young person, not yet a famous historical figure.

Look closer

  • What does her clothing and posture suggest about her life at this time?
  • Why might this early photograph have been preserved and later identified with a handwritten caption?
  • How might someone who met her at this age have been surprised by her later career?

This photograph is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Susan B. Anthony on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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