An original albumen print photograph dating to around 1880, in carte de visite format, approx. 60 x 100 mm, with wet-stamped caption on the front of the mount: "BABY TOM, THE MOST WONDERFUL SWIMMER IN THE WORLD". No photographer or publisher is indicated (the reverse is blank).
I believe the young sitter is possibly TOMMY BURNS (1868-1897), the celebrity swimmer, diver and all-round athlete from Liverpool in the UK, who was a prodigious swimmer and diver from an early age. Today he is best remembered for his many daredevil diving feats - and his tragic death in 1897 that resulted from one of these "thrill dives".
I cannot find any other example of this photograph on the internet, and a search for the wording on the printed caption also throws up absolutely nothing.
The print is in good condition but it has some pinkish discoloration in the negative.
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