Old Occupational Portraits In Color

What did your ancestors do for a living? In the mid-19th century, occupational portraits were a common portrait style that illustrated an individual’s trade or profession. If you are lucky to have an occupational portrait of an ancestor, you may see that they often include tools or props to help illustrate their profession or skills. They may be dressed in their work attire and in some cases, they may even pretend to be working. These fascinating portraits offer a remarkable glimpse into the everyday lives of your ancestors.

For this Labor Day, we thought it would be fun to take a look at some occupational portraits of the past. See the images come to life after they have been enhanced and colorized with MyHeritage’s powerful photo tools!

Cooper

Library of Congress

Latch Maker

Library of Congress

Blacksmith

Library of Congress

Tile Worker

Library of Congress

Taxidermist

Library of Congress

Shoemaker

George Eastman Museum

Stone Cutter

Library of Congress

Town Crier

The National Library of Wales

Carpenter

Library of Congress

Do you have any occupation portraits of your ancestors?