Thanks, Klaus. I should have noted that the subject of the photograph was U. S. Senator Royal Copeland, but I didn't know where the photo was taken. (I see by Wikipedia that Sen. Copeland was known for his successful efforts to bring air conditioning to the Senate.)
I kind of wondered whether that huge case was hiding the actual mic, but I hadn't heard of that practice, though I certainly knew that radio (and later, TV) stations often flagged, and still flag, their mics with a prominent logo. I wonder what that massive surround did to the sound of the mic?
Brendan Doyle