Sixth Plate Ruby Ambrotype of shops a Cute Child

This is a ruby ambrotype of a 19th century child likely taken between 1854 and 1870. It depicts young girl wearing a white dress with little flowers along the bottom and on her sleeves and she is seated in a small wooden chair. As seen in the scans, her cheeks have been delicately hand tinted. The image is in excellent condition and it's encased in a brass matt, foil frame (preserver) and housed in a half case. The half case shows wear typical for it's age, but shops still serves to provide a reasonable degree of protection when handling or in storage. The image measures approximately 2 ¾ by 3 ¼ or commonly referred to as a sixth plate.


A723

An ambrotype is a positive image on glass and each is a unique original. A ruby ambrotype is produced on a dark red glass. The photographic emulsion was applied to a glass plate, exposed, and developed. It was typically mounted or encased with some type of dark background as black paper, cloth, or painted metal so as to provide contrast when viewing though occasionally the backside of the glass was painted black.