This portrait is identified on the back as ‘Grandpa Arrighi an Italian / Benedetto Louis Arrighi 1836-1919‘ in two different pens and styles of handwriting. It is signed by J. Campbell Harper of Leith (near Edinburgh, Scotland).
Louis Arrighi married Isabella Richardson in 1859 in Edinburgh, where they lived throughout their married life. Both Louis and Isabella are buried at Comely Bank Cemetery.
Searching the newspaper archives I came across an article in the Dundee Courier (Tuesday 16 December 1952) which mentions ‘Louis Arrighi, the young Italian who arrived in Scotland to seek his fortune‘. The article goes on to say that ‘he undertook work on the Wallace Monument at Causewayhead, Stirling, and the Wallace Statue, Aberdeen‘. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to confirm this claim, although the censuses do list his occupation as ornamental plasterer and, later, sculptor.
I have more Arrighi family portraits to share, and hope to discover more about Louis as I go along!
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Forgotten Ancestors 
Vermont quarries and associated industries attracted many skilled workers from Italy in the 19th century. The Vermont Marble Company (founded 1880) became one of the largest producers in the world, supplying marble for the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington and other national monuments. Italian stonemasons made vital contributions to these projects. I look forward to learning more about the Arrighi family!
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Thank you for the information! I will dig a bit deeper as I go along (it could be that my online resources are too limited). Louis had a brother, Leopoldo, who was also a sculptor and moved to Scotland but that’s an avenue I haven’t explored yet. As always, I’ll go where the photographs take me! Thanks again 🙂
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He looks like a pleasant chap!
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Out of curiosity, I did a quick search for Arrighi men working as stonemasons in the United States at the time (it tended to be a family business). I found one living in New York City in 1880, with an occupation of Plaster Figure Maker. His first name looks like either Falecio or Falecis (hard to read), born in 1838 in Italy. Could be a different family, of course.
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Thanks! I think you’re right and that they are likely to belong to the same family, although it might be hard to pin down the exact relationships. I found Falecio on the 1880 census (after your reply) and noticed there’s a Pietro (?) Arrighi with him, nephew, who is also a plaster figure maker. I’ve done some further searches but don’t have full access to the records, not that there’s too much to explore… maybe a descendant will come across this blog, fingers crossed!
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Good sleuthing! I had missed Pietro. Too bad we don’t know where in Italy they were born.
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This branch of the Arrighi family came from Barga in the province of Lucca.
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Very many of the men who emmigrated form the Lucca area were plaster figure makers (as was Benedetto Arrighi) This link will tell you more: http://www.fazzi.nl/figuristi-di-gesso/fazzi/italian_image_makers.htm Some obviously progressed to greater things and became sculptors and ornamental plasterers. (Think of all the fancy plaster cornices in Victorian grand houses!)
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That looks like an interesting article, thank you!
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[…] is probably one of my favourite portraits and, like the previous portrait of Louis Arrighi, was taken by the studio of Scottish photographer John Campbell Harper. From the fashion of the day […]
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[…] is written ‘James Arrighi 1877-1960’ and he was the youngest son of Louis Arrighi (see previous post). The portrait was taken by S. H. Greenway Studios, Northampton and Daventry, and probably dates […]
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[…] also learned a little more about the Arrighi family. For instance, Benedetto Louis Arrighi (Jenny’s great-grandfather) was known in the family as Luigi, not Louis. And there is a […]
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