Author! Author!

Louisa May Alcott, author of of the classic novel Little Women, was born on this day in 1832.

Alcott's engaging characters, Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth, along with their parents, Mrs. and Mrs. March, were loosely based on her family and their friends and neighbors in New England.

Shown here are two enchanting women from the Smithsonian American Art Museum's photography collection. To view more examples of early photos, visit the virtual exhibit American Photographs: The First Century or order our book from the online shop.

Pictured: Paul Burty Haviland, 1880 France–1950 France, Two Sisters, about 1908, platinum print on paper, 7 1/2 x 9 1/2 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase from the Charles Isaacs Collection made possible in part by the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment.