A line-engraved colored newspaper illustration showing a cornet player performing on a narrow Boston street before a crowd of onlookers with the caption The Old Cornet Player--A Familiar Boston Character. After an original painting by Boston native Frank O. Small (1860-1915).

Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper was a literary and news magazine that ran from 1855 to 1922. Issues typically included 16 pages and presented the news of the previous week, featuring articles and illustrations by noteworthy names like Louisa May Alcott and Norman Rockwell. Surviving illustrations from the publication are prized for their vivid and candid depictions of American life.