Vintage chalk drawing of a man, help please

Bought this last week at a yard sale, because I thought it was sort of odd, and thought it was a print when it was in its frame. When I removed it from the frame, and tried to wipe it off, and realized it was chalk, I think. It measures approx 14" x 10". Is it sort of odd, or is it just me?, How old would you suppose it is?, and is chalk drawing the proper term?, and of course anything else you could add is fabulous. Thanks for your time & thoughts.

 

I think you need @Figtree3 on this one for thoughts about whether this is a "crayon" picture done over an enlarged photograph.

 

Kinda hypnotic. I'd guess pastel portrait. Interesting choice of expressions.

 

"Interesting" would not exactly be my first descriptive...

(He's thinking, "If I don't say anything, no one will know I don't belong here...")

 

Hat, thin tie, I'd say 1920s.

Like Gila, I was going to say pastel, because you are saying chalk like.

 

Looking at the lack of sideburn hair, the delicacy of features, tweezed-looking brows, and the thin neck... I wonder if it isn't a female, hair pulled severely back and hidden in a hat, and dressed in suit and tie. The expression... unsure/nervous/looking away from the portraitist?

 

Oh wow, I never would have thought that Bakers, it doesn't seem like crayon, but anything is possible thank you sooo much!

 

Thank you all sooo much Gila, Silverthwait and cluttered! LOL Silverthwait, you're always so funny. Thanks for you time estimate cluttered, I had no idea. Gila, do you think he's a she? IT, definitely has some feminine qualities.
Thanks again all of you, I really appreciate the help.

 

What's wrong with the second one?

 

This wasn't an unusual thing to occur then.

 

The reason Bakers put "crayon" in quotation marks is that one of the names for these is crayon portraits, but they actually use a wide variety of media to cover the photograph. Sometimes pastels, sometimes paint, sometimes charcoal, etc. I'm not positive if this is one of those, but it does look like one. It seems to have less detail in it than most I have seen. Still, I think it's likely that it is.

Here are a few references for them. They are also called solar enlargements, and there was a special camera used for the underlying photographic part. They were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As I mentioned, this one is somewhat different in that it doesn't have as much detail as a lot of them do.

http://sgarwood.com/node/52

https://auroramohistoricalsociety.wordpress.com/2009/02/23/crayon-portrait/

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/30248/30248-h/30248-h.htm

http://brightbytes.com/woodward.html

 

So, I'm totally confused....why is a weak photograph showing in the frame??????

 

That's the photographer's reflection. Right?

 

Thanks King, but I don't understand?

 

Yup !!!
In short shorts too !!!

 

Wow Fig, thank you ever soooooo much for all of that fabulous info!! I did a very quick look, and need to go back and read all it to understand better, and I'm sure I will be back with many more questions! Thanks again, much appreciated.

 

Ah, oops, yeah, that be my legs.....I was sitting down outside taking the pics.

 

Nice Gams !!!!

 

AH!
Take a better one please.

 

He looks like a human taken over by aliens in a Dr Who episode.(LOL) Creepy, but interesting too.