Photograph (Collodion Positive on Glass, Relievo Type) of a Woman and Child, c.1856

Collodion positive on glass (ambrotype), relievo type, enclosed and cased. Portrait of a woman with an infant child, the woman seated three-quarter length, facing left, holding the child on her lap to left, the child awake and looking front. Hand tinted. The woman is isolated against a dark grey background, which is the relievo method of presenting ambrotypes. Enclosed in gilt frame and plain oval mat. Union case with heavy relief decoration front and back; decorated red velvet pad. Two hinges and one pressure clasp. Top hinge loose (and bottom one slightly in consequence); frame and mat affected by patches of turquoise-patina metal tarnishing, but photograph (cleaned in 1985) is in good condition.