Q: This picture of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., hung in my grandparents’ home. It’s 17 1/4 inches high and 23 1/4 inches wide. The glass is domed and the picture appears to be foil attached to the inside of the glass. What is the history and value of this picture?

A: Your picture with foil backing was made by the Chicago Portrait Co. and copyrighted in 1916. The company was founded in 1893 and was in business until at least 1940. It produced paintings of other famous buildings, too, but is best known for its portraits done from old family photos. Chicago Portrait Co. was the largest company of its kind in the U.S. Salesmen traveled throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and South America selling the pictures. After the customer provided an original photo, it was enlarged and colored using watercolor, India ink, oil paint, pastels or crayon. The finished picture was on a curved piece of cardboard. When the salesman received a shipment of finished pictures and domed frames, he put the pictures into the frames before showing them to his customers in hopes of selling them the frame as well as the picture they had ordered. The frames look like burled wood, but some sources say they were made of painted plaster and some say they were plastic-coated wood. An early ad lists “$20 pastel portraits for $3.98” and frames “that retail for $4.00 to $8.00 for about $1.50 to $4.90.” The frame with a picture in it sells today online for $85 to $175.