Short-lived Silhouettist

James Holsey Whitcomb traveled from Hancock, New Hampshire to enroll at the American School for the Deaf in 1822. Reverend Thomas Gallaudet wrote a short description of each of the pupils from New Hampshire that received state assistance. He said about 16 year old Whitcomb, “He has good talents, strong memory, and ready conception, with an insatiable thirst for knowledge, great industry and attention to his studies.” Whitcomb specialized in shoemaking while attending ASD.

Shortly after he graduated in the 1830s he did not make his living as a shoemaker. Instead, he became a traveling silhouettist. It is unclear if he learned his drawing and silhouette skills while at ASD, but he had several classmates who went on to become expert artists too: Augustus Fuller and William Niblio, Jr.  Whitcomb journeyed across New England creating silhouette portraits. Although he rarely signed his work, his distinctive apostrophe curve and sharp point at the bottom of his portraits make his style recognizable.

Throughout his travels he kept in contact with the expanding Deaf Community and met Sarah Ann Enos, a graduate from the New York School for the Deaf. Sarah and James married in 1839 and had three hearing sons. He returned to shoemaking to support his growing family. Sadly, he passed away in 1848 at the age of 42.

Credits and Sources:

Photos courtesy of:

New Hampshire Historical Society; ASD; ASD; ASD.