Soldier H.F. Anderson, Waltham, MA, circa 1915

About this postcard

Full-length studio portrait of a young U.S. Army soldier, identified in handwriting on the card as H.F. Anderson of Waltham, Massachusetts. He wears a World War I-era uniform: garrison cap, buttoned tunic, and wrapped leggings. On his belt is a leather M1916-pattern pistol holster (with the characteristic “US” oval embossed on the flap) for a Colt M1911 .45 automatic, with a canvas double magazine pouch immediately beside it for two spare magazines. He stands before a painted backdrop of foliage and an ornate iron railing, a common studio setting of the period. The imprint “Davignon, photo, 56, rue d’Alonville, Nantes” identifies the studio. Contemporary records (including other military portrait postcards) list the same photographer as Davignon photographe, 56, rue d’Allonville, Nantes (Loire-Inférieure). The slight spelling difference (Alonville vs. Allonville) is common in period sources and transcriptions; the address and name match. Davignon produced real-photo military portraits as postcards in the WWI period (examples of French soldiers from 1914 survive with the same studio mark). Nantes was a major port and garrison city. American Expeditionary Forces soldiers passing through or on leave in the area frequently sat for local French studio photographers, who printed the images on standard French “Carte Postale” stock. This confirms the portrait of H.F. Anderson was taken and printed in Nantes during his overseas service, then brought or sent home to Massachusetts. The French boilerplate and the Nantes studio imprint together place the card’s origin firmly in France.