Beschreibung:

Cabinet card vignetted bust portrait of Grafton Norman. S.H. Seckner: Fort Collins, Colorado, n.d., circa 1896. Imprint on recto. Ink identification on verso. Norman wears a sack coat with partially obscured chevrons and medal. Grafton St. Clair Norman (1875-1945) grew up in Hamilton, Ohio, where and while Alston Ellis was serving as superintendent of public schools. Ellis was a trailblazer in many ways, one of which was desegregating Hamilton public schools as early as 1891. A year later, he was chosen to serve as President of the State Agricultural College of Colorado in Fort Collins, where he invited a young, promising Hamilton student, Grafton Norman, to join him. Norman enrolled in the college, making the most of his college career by participating in numerous organizations, most notably the College Oratorical Association. Norman was a gifted orator, a trait recognized and supported by his peers and instructors through awards and nominations, including the student body's selection of Norman as College orator for the 1896 George Washington birthday celebration. After graduating in 1896 with a degree in mechanical engineering and subsequently leaving Fort Collins, Norman enlisted in the US Army, serving as a second lieutenant during the Spanish-American War. Norman pursued a teaching career after the war, instructing pupils at Kentucky's Blue Grass Normal and Industrial School in mathematics and natural science, and at Alabama's Agricultural and Manufacturing College in military sciences. Norman served in France during World War I, and upon returning to the United States, climbed the insurance industry ladder to become State Inspector of the Union Central Relief Association in Birmingham, Alabama. Norman's life was cut short when he was struck by a car on the way home from church in 1945. Condition: Image somewhat toned. Mount with light soiling/wear and spot of residue lower right corner. Ink and pencil inscriptions on verso.