I have become a fairly avid collector of ambrotypes and tintypes of the 1860s, I'm fascinated by early images and I find them inspiring.

I have just bought this quarter plate ambro, delicately tinted of a young woman holding a cased photo.

I copied it as large as I could and cleaned up the highly magnified cased photo in the young woman's hand, and although very blurred it proves to be of a woman wearing a lace collar, fashionable in the 1850s.





Seán

Nice photo Sean thanks for sharing. I love to scan them too and blowup areas of the image to see what is there that cant be seen by the eye alone.

Im always looking for the camera or operator in peoples eyes.

I wondered what the significance of the held photo was, on looking up Victorian mourning dress I found that light shades of violet were considered suitable for half mourning, that is the period towards the end of mourning.

So I guess that's what this photo is about.

Seán