David James Van Meter and Martha Avery Van Meter lived near Rock Island, Illinois. Martha was born into the Avery family, which had settled settled in the regions of Petersburg and Monmouth, Illinois. This is clearly a husband-and-wife matching pair: the double case is designed to hold two portraits, and when closed, the two image would be face to face.

The husband has posed holding a copy of W. O. Blake’s History of Slavery and the Slave Trade, Ancient and Modern, first published in 1857 by J. & H. Miller of Columbus, Ohio and sold exclusively by subscription.

The wife has posed holding a photograph case for a sixth plate image.

The backdrop, which is identical in the two portraits, looks to be a hanging cloth or canvas, which might indicate that the photographer was an itinerant — traveling the countryside with a wagon and mobile developing equipment to take portraits on farms and in small villages.