Description
Almost haunting ambrotype photograph of a young boy presented in original ornate frame and beautifully ornate pressed copper mat. Crazing to the image is not unusual for this type of image and age, circa 1850s. Photographer unidentified however the boy is identified in a period ink note on back as Myron Sharp Herendeen. Makes for a great genealogy project.
Frame 4.75 x 6 inches
These are one of a kind images because there was no negative. Ambrotypes found today are the actual image literally placed in the hand of the sitter, in some cases well over a hundred years ago. The Ambrotype process was first developed in 1851. They were made on a glass plate coated with a wet, light sensitive substance, which when developed and dried, produced a negative image. The negative then had to be mounted against a dark background or coated with a dark varnish to give the illusion of a positive.
The sizes of early photographs including daguerreotypes, ambrotypes and tintypes are determined and referred to by the portion of a full plate. A full plate is 6.5” × 8.5”; a half-plate is 4.25” × 5.5”; a quarter-plate is 3.25” × 4.25”; the most popular 6th plate is 2.75 x 3.25; a ninth-plate is 2” × 2.5”; and the sixteenth-plate is 1.375” × 1.625”.
