• Login
  • Register
  • FAQ
  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • Documents
  • Activities
  • Activity Tools
    • All Tools
    • Analyzing Documents
    • Discussion Topic
    • Compare and Contrast
    • Zoom/Crop
    • White Out / Black Out
    • Spotlight
    • Finding a Sequence
    • Making Connections
    • Mapping History
    • Seeing the Big Picture
    • Weighing the Evidence
    • Interpreting Data
  • Popular Topics
    • See All
    • National History Day
    • The Constitution
    • Labor History
    • Sports: All-American
    • Rights in America
    • American Indians
    • Women's Rights
    • American Revolution
    • The Civil War
    • World War I
    • World War II
    • The Vietnam War
    • 1970s America
    • Congress
    • Amending America
    • Elections
    • What Americans Eat
    • Signatures
    • Nixon and Ford Years
  • Resources
    • Getting Started
    • Document Analysis
    • Activity-Creation Guide
    • Manage Assignments
    • iPad App
    • Presentation Materials
    • Webinars
      • Recorded Webinars
      • Live Webinars
MENU
DocsTeachThe online tool for teaching with documents, from the National Archives National Archives Foundation National Archives

Anna Coleman Ladd in Her Studio

4/1918

Print
Add to Favorites:
Add
Saving document...
Your document has been saved.
Add all page(s) of this document to activity:
During World War I, weapons such as machine guns and heavy artillery had a devastating effect on the human body. With new medical breakthroughs, soldiers survived horrifying injuries, but their facial features might be torn away, leaving them without noses, eyes, or part of their jaws. Surgery could not fix every injury, and so soldiers turned to "portrait masks."

In 1917, American sculptor Anna Coleman Ladd moved from the United States to France with her husband where she was introduced to Francis Derwent Wood, a face mask creator who operated a "Tin Noses Shop." Wood inspired Ladd to create her own "Studio for Portrait-Masks." Ladd persuaded the American Red Cross to help her open her studio in Paris in 1918.

Ladd's work changed the lives of many injured veterans. Adjusting back to life after war was already extremely difficult — physically, these soldiers faced hardships, but they also feared stares and judgment due to their injuries. The masks were made of copper and silver and painted while the patient was wearing it to match the color of his face precisely. The soldiers who wore them looked as if they had not sustained great injuries. Ladd's masks even had mustaches on them. A mask was held in place by glasses; but if a soldier didn’t want glasses, Ladd used thin wire or ribbon to keep it in place. 

The Red Cross described Ladd’s achievements as "miracles." She worked with many soldiers to ensure that they could adjust back to civilian life. By the end of 1919 she had created 185 masks. She donated her services to create these masks, and each soldier purchased the mask for just $18. When the war ended, the Red Cross could no longer fund her studio and it closed.

The originial caption for this photograph reads: 

Mrs. Anna Colman Ladd Aiding Surgeons Remake Shell Torn Faces of Soldiers

Mrs. Anna Colman Ladd, well-known sculptor, member of the National Sculptor Society of New York, and the Boston Society of Artists is hard at work in her Paris studio aiding surgeons remake shell torn faces of soldiers.

Much has been done in the facial surgery, and the sculptor joins hands with the doctor in working on the reconstruction of the shattered faces of the wounded heroes. Often when the jaw is badly shattered and the nose is completely torn away, and the rest of the face mutilated apparently beyond all hope, these skilled doctors and surgeons come to the rescue, and perform the miracle of remaking the face as good as new.

Mrs. Ladd, famed as a sculptor, of unusual talent, has achieved miracles which the American Red Cross has been quick to see and encourage.

This series of pictures shows the success of her work.

The masks are made of copper and silver and are painted the same shade as the patients face after being adjusted.
This primary source comes from the Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs.
National Archives Identifier: 45532721
Full Citation: Photograph 165-WW-429P-1224; Anna Coleman Ladd; 4/1918; Personnel - P1200 through P1299; American Unofficial Collection of World War I Photographs, 1917 - 1918; Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs, Record Group 165; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/anna-coleman-ladd, June 12, 2025]
Return to ResultsReturn

Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.

  • Explore Primary Source Documents
  •  
  • Discover Activities You Can Teach With
  •  
  • Create Fun & Engaging Activities
Follow us on X:X
Follow us on Facebook:facebook
Please enter a valid email address

View our webinars:youtube

Get our iPad app:apple
New Documentsshare
New Activitiesshare

The National Archives

DocsTeach is a product of the National Archives education division. Our mission is to engage, educate, and inspire all learners to discover and explore the records of the American people preserved by the National Archives.

The National Archives and Records Administration is the nation's record keeper. We save documents and other materials created in the course of business conducted by the U.S. Federal government that are judged to have continuing value. We hold in trust for the public the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights — but also the records of ordinary citizens — at our locations around the country.
  • All Education Programs
  • Student Visits
  • Distance Learning
  • Professional Development
  • National Archives Museum
  • Presidential Libraries
  • Archives.gov
  • National Archives Foundation




Creative Commons License

Except where otherwise noted, DocsTeach is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Primary source documents included on this site generally come from the holdings of the National Archives and are in the public domain, except as noted. Teaching activities on this site have received the CC0 Public Domain Dedication; authors have waived all copyright and related rights to the extent possible under the law. See our legal and privacy page for full terms and conditions.
Safest and most reliable Czech online casinos! isitfair.eu – a trusted platform with expertly ratings & reviews, and top choise exclusive bonuses for Czech players.