Tintype, Unidentified Couple, by Samuel C. Dustin, Photographic Artist, Keene, New Hampshire

This tintype was placed in a case usually used for ambrotypes and daguerreotypes; inside the case, embossed on paper was the photographer S.C. Dustin, Keene, New Hampshire.

The photographer Samuel C. Dustin was born 21 January 1818 in Windam, New Hampshire, the son of Peter Dustin (4 June 1781 - 27 January 1826) and Abigail Brown (17 October 1783 - 17 January 1854), both of New Hampshire. Samuel was first married to Jemima B. Puffer on 8 September 1841; she passed away on 26 October 1841. He married Catherine H. Perry (1815 - 25 January 1892) on 10 April 1844. The first record I could find of an occupation was the 1850 census in which Samuel was living in Keene and working as a shoemaker. One local history suggests he started a photography business in Keene in 1856, but the 1860 census is the first listing I could find of him as a photographic artist; Catherine was working as a “tailoress”. From 1862-1866, he paid annually $25.00 for a Class B license for photographers making more than $1,000 a year. Keene directories available at ancestry.com indicate that his gallery was at Central Square from 1871 through 1878. In 1879, he is listed as a photographer, but with no business address. In the 1880 census he lists himself as a day laborer, and the Keene 1881 directory listed him as working in Fester’s Tannery. In 1887 he was listed as a gardener. Thereafter, up until 1899 he was listed as a retired photographer. Samuel passed away on 24 November 1899.

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