Alltop.com

By 1859, poet Emily Dickinson had already embarked on her unusually reclusive lifestyle, which makes this daguerreotype found in her hometown of Amherst, Massachusetts all the more precious, beyond the fact it would be only the second photo of her in existence.

Tests comparing the woman on the left’s facial features to the already-indentified photo as well as a fabric comparison using the Emily Dickinson Museum’s textile collection point to a match, though Amherst College is asking the public for more information to solidify their belief that it is, in fact, Dickinson.

“She (whoever she is) seems to be the one in charge here, the one who decided that on a certain day in a certain year, she and her friend would have their likenesses preserved. In fact, even if this photograph is not of Dickinson and Turner, it has still been of use in forcing us to imagine Dickinson as an adult, past the age of the ethereal-looking 16-year-old we have known for so many years,” the college added.

Undoubtedly, most of us would rather be remembered as adults than awkward teens, and we’re pretty sure Dickinson would have been no exception.

Full story at Guardian via Neatorama.

Legends of poetry.