Bowdoin College Class of 1825 Silhouettes. From the Bowdoin College Archives (A01.06).

Before the advent of photography, students often sat for shadow or profile portraits, known as silhouettes, which they exchanged with family and friends. This composite set shows thirty-two of the thirty-seven graduates of the Class of 1825. Not represented are Stephen Longfellow and Horatio Bridge, whose portraits are not known to exist. Copies of the known silhouettes of John S. C. Abbott, Richmond Bradford, and David Shepley are also missing. Also present is Gorham Deane, a member of the class who died weeks before commencement. The authenticity of Hawthorne’s silhouette, signed here “Hath,” has long been contested but has recently been confirmed thanks to the donation of a second copy from the descendants of Jonathan Cilley.