This silhouette of his father was created by Edward Hitchcock in February of 1822, when Justin Hitchcock was seventy years old. An inexpensive way to preserve the likeness of a person, the silhouette was usually cut from black paper and mounted on a sheet of white paper before framing. Justin Hitchcock (1752-1822), learned the trade of hatter as an apprentice in Springfield, Massachusetts, and moved to Deerfield, Massachusetts, in 1774. He was also a Revolutionary War soldier, and later, music director at the meetinghouse in Deerfield.