Two fireman from Vinalhaven wore their full uniform when they posed for this tintype portrait. Their cheeks have been hand-colored in pink. Maine State Historian Earle Shettleworth has noted that membership in local fire companies was a particular matter of pride in Maine during this era, and it was common for men to take their picture in uniform. The photo print on the great majority of tintypes was laterally reversed, so subjects appear as if in a mirror.