Family portrait: Harriet Paige finds inspiration and mystery in her antique tintypes

BY THERESA WALKERThe Orange County Register SANTA ANA, Calif. - (KRT) - The sepia-toned portrait on the wall just inside Harriet Paige's front door catches the eye almost immediately upon entering her home. The young African-American man looks handsome in his derby, bow tie, white shirt and dress coat. His face is clean-shaven, boyish but serious. This is a photo of Paige's father, Nathaniel Mayfield, taken in the first decade of the 20th century when he was in his early 20s. "Nat," his friends called him. He was a carpenter. Other old photographs from the same era line the mantel over her fireplace or hang on opposite walls. Every picture tells a story, and Paige, a retired preschool teacher and Irvine, Calif., schools administrator, wishes she knew more about the people of the past who are ever-present in her home. None more so than her most precious family portraits, two dozen 19th century tintype photographs that she protects in a special photo album. They are at least 130 years old –– men, women and children she doesn't recognize, with two exceptions. Full Story: http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/11013006.htm