I just received an email from my grandfather asking for help identifying the man in the portrait. He found the portrait while cleaning out his house in Salem, Massachusetts. I tried running the photo through Google image search. I didn't bother with Tineye, because it's usually rubbish. So far, no results. This is the original image he sent to me. My grandfather guessed perhaps it was Horace Greeley, but he admits he really has no idea.
EDIT: Checked Tineye, no results
Thoughts anyone? Also if there's a better sub for this, please let me know.
TL;DR Who is this?
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It's hard to tell from the quality of the image, but is it mass produced?
If it is, then comparing it to other pictures is a good idea. But it might be someone locally famous rather than nationally famous--a prominent preacher or a judge maybe.
If it isn't mass produced, then it's probably impossible to identify. If it's something that you found that was left by a previous occupant of the house, I'd try to contact that person and see if it's a relative of theirs. Or you could try asking the local historical society or genealogical society in Salem for help. (I know one of the historical societies where I live is well known for keeping a very extensive portrait collection of early locals.)
If this is a portrait that's been in your own family for a long time, it's likely a portrait of someone in your family tree. Who in your ancestry would be about this guy's age (50? 60?) in the mid-1800s? This might be your great-great-great grandfather, or uncle, or cousin. Of those people who fit the right age, were any of them a professional of some sort? This looks like a lawyer or a doctor or a preacher--not a farmer or a blacksmith. You'll never know for certain who this is, but I bet you could narrow it down by the process of elimination to a few likely individuals.
And I don't see much of a resemblance to Horace Greeley, myself. Good luck!
I have a similar post, trying to identify a campaign button. I just tried TinEye for the first time, and it worked! Solved. Maybe you should give it a try.
It does look a lot like Greeley, who would also be popular in Salem MA. A problem with a Google image search is that, if it is Greeley, the portraitist has done the typical portrait painter thing and made him look more handsome than he actually was- the hairline is not as nearly high, the jaw is stronger, etc. All that is enough to throw off a search.
