Ambrotype Of A Civil War Wife In A Gutta Percha Case, 1860

View Similar Items

Civil War Union Solider in Full Dress, Sword & Cannon, Union Gutta Percha Case

19th Century Ambrotype of a Young Male Student/ Writer, Gutta Percha Case

Miniature Daguerreotype Family Portraits with Hand Coloring in Gutta Percha Case

Antique Golf Ball, Gutta Percha

Gutta Percha Golf Ball, Bramble Pattern.

Mingays Patent, Gutta Percha, Golf Ball

Gutta Percha, Mesh Pattern Golf Ball

Mingays Patent, Gutta Percha, Golf Ball

Gutta Percha, Mesh Pattern Golf Ball

Antique, Unused Golf Ball, Gutta Percha

Antique Gutta Percha Golf Ball, Mesh Pattern

Silver Town Gutta Percha, Mesh Pattern Golf Ball

About the Item

Identical on both front and back, this brown gutta percha case has a lovely floral design with minimal geometric designs. The gilt stamped brass inner frame and inner mat are in fine condition, firmly placed in the burt-out velvet lining. The gutta purcha cases were made from a compressed combination of shellack and sawdust. This period case has survived in excellent condition. When families gather, there's always a chance that someone will pull out the old family photos. Vintage Instamatic snaps and Polaroids, sepia-tone studio portraits of generations past, possibly even an ambrotype. What's an ambrotype? It's a specific type of photo that was widely popular for a brief time. Chances are you've seen one-maybe even found one among your family's keepsakes -but you might not have known its name until now. The history of commercial photography starts with the daguerreotype, invented in France by Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre in 1839. In that process, a silver-coated copper plate is treated with chemicals and placed inside a darkened camera. When the camera lens is opened to light, the plate is exposed and the image is captured. This ability to capture an unadulterated image from life was revolutionary, but taking and processing a daguerreotype was time-consuming and expensive. Thus, daguerreotype photography studios catered mainly to wealthy and celebrated clients; the same people who might have had their portraits painted in oils. For ordinary folks, preserving one's visage for posterity tended to be cost-prohibitive until the introduction of the ambrotype (also called a collodion positive) in 1853. Devised by British sculptor Frederick Scott Archer and perfected and patented by Boston inventor/photographer James Ambrose Cutting (who gave the ambrotype its name), the ambrotype was a photograph exposed directly onto a glass plate, which was then backed with black paint or fabric to reveal its shading and contrast. That technology spread surprisingly fast, with daguerreotype studio photographers switching to ambrotypes, new photography studios opening in cities and itinerant photographers traveling the countryside to offer their services. Photo historian and archivist Gary Saretzky estimates that more than a thousand photographers worked in New Jersey in some capacity during the 19th century. Most left behind little more than a name and occupation listed in a municipal directory, but some left a lasting legacy. Among those whose work you'll see in prominent collections, including the Library of Congress, are Augur Judson (A. Judson & Co.) and Orrin Benjamin (O.C. Beniamin) of Newark. Ambrotypes had other advantages over daguerreotypes as well. Because a daguerreotype was made on a mirrored surface, it had to be positioned just so to be viewed properly. "Ambrotypes are flatter and more even with the image right at the surface so it's easier to view," Hewes says. Curators, historians and collectors appreciate ambrotypes because they can be dated to a specific period beginning in 1853 and ending around the late 1860s with the advent of tintypes -an even newer, cheaper and thus more ubiquitous form of photography. As you might expect, given the time period, hundreds of ambrotype portraits were taken of Union and Confederate soldiers from the Civil War. Plenty of famous people sat for ambrotypes as well. One particularly rare example is an 1860 ambrotype of Abraham Lincoln, now in the Newark Public Library Special Collections. Ambrotypes were made in standard sizes ranging from the Imperial or Mammoth Plate (larger than 6½ by 8½ inches) to a Sixteenth Plate (1½ by 1¾ inches), with the pocket-sized Sixth Plate (2¾ by 3¼ inches) and Ninth Plate (2 by 2½ inches) most common.

Dimensions:
Height: 3.75 in (9.53 cm)Width: 3.25 in (8.26 cm)Depth: 0.875 in (2.23 cm)
Style:
High Victorian (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Brass,Fabric,Gold Plate,Metal,Paper,Velvet,Embossed,Hand-Crafted
Place of Origin:
United States
Period:
1860-1869
Date of Manufacture:
1860’s
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. In good antique condition having no major issues.
Seller Location:
New Orleans, LA
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU6628236584312

More From This Seller

View All

19th C. English Carved Mahogany Jewelry Box in the Form of a Miniature Dresser

Located in New Orleans, LA

A very unusual and handsome English carved mahogany Gentlemens jewelry box in the form of a miniature dresser, the upper section with an upward slidi...

Category

Antique 1870s English Late Victorian Models and Miniatures

Materials

Brass

19th C. English Carved Mahogany Jewelry Box in the Form of a Miniature Dresser

$832 Sale Price

20% Off

Set Of Twelve Tooled Leather Bound Books Various Titles

Located in New Orleans, LA

A handsome set of twelve tooled and leather bound books. Expert book binders have individually re-bound these carefully selected used books in fine leathers embossed and gold leafed ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Edwardian Books

Materials

Gold Leaf

Set Of Twelve Tooled Leather Bound Books Various Titles

$525 Sale Price / set

30% Off

19th C. French Provincial Carved Cherry Prie-Dieu with Woven Rush Seat

Located in New Orleans, LA

A charming 19th century French Provincial prie-dieu/chair of carved cherry wood and handwoven rush seating, having lovely, scalloped details. The top chair seat pulls up in order to ...

Category

Antique 1850s French French Provincial Religious Items

Materials

Cherry, Rush

19th C. French Provincial Carved Cherry Prie-Dieu with Woven Rush Seat

$163 Sale Price

74% Off

An Original Pair Of English Watercolor/Sketches C. 1854, 1855, Ellen Dumbleton

Located in New Orleans, LA

Two original English watercolor/drawings circa 1854,1855, Ellen Dumbleton, from her sketchbook, Humble House and Summer house, Hall Grove. Beautifully pr...

Category

Antique 1850s English High Victorian Decorative Art

Materials

Paper, Giltwood, Glass, Gesso

An Original Pair Of English Watercolor/Sketches C. 1854, 1855, Ellen Dumbleton

$480 Sale Price / set

70% Off

Free Shipping

Antique Daubree Silver Vermeil Ice Cream Shovels/Spoons In Presentation Case

By Alfred Daubrée

Located in New Orleans, LA

An exquisite antique French set of four silver vermeil ice cream shovels/spoons in a velvet lined presentation case, created by Alfred Daubree, Nancy. The spoons with incredibly deta...

Category

Antique 1870s French Belle Époque Sheffield and Silverplate

Materials

Vermeil, Silver

Antique Daubree Silver Vermeil Ice Cream Shovels/Spoons In Presentation Case

$550

Antique Czechoslovakian Cut to Clear Cased Glass Table Lamp

Located in New Orleans, LA

A stunning cased glass white over amber table lamp with hand cut ovals & hand painted flowers, oval cuts around the bottom and hand cuts all over. A lovely addition to your dressing ...

Category

Vintage 1920s Czech Bohemian Table Lamps

Materials

Cut Glass, Glass

Antique Czechoslovakian Cut to Clear Cased Glass Table Lamp

$94 Sale Price

74% Off

Antique 19th Century North American High Victorian Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Glass

Civil War Union Solider in Full Dress, Sword & Cannon, Union Gutta Percha Case

$2,360 Sale Price

20% Off

19th Century Ambrotype of a Young Male Student/ Writer, Gutta Percha Case

Located in West Palm Beach, FL

19th century ambrotype of a young male student/ writer, gutta percha case An unidentified well dressed standing young man, with pen in hand, in beau...

Category

Antique 19th Century North American Photography

Materials

Glass

19th Century Ambrotype of a Young Male Student/ Writer, Gutta Percha Case

$396 Sale Price

20% Off

Miniature Daguerreotype Family Portraits with Hand Coloring in Gutta Percha Case

Located in Norwalk, CT

Four excellent Civil War-era daguerreotype portraits, each framed in elaborate gold foil. Three images (woman and children) appear to be hand-colored and gilded. These portraits are presented in a fantastic carved gutta percha "Union Case", decorated with a mother, child, and dog on cover and guilloche-style geometric engraving on back. Amazingly, this case appears to be the same one held by the woman in the upper left-hand photograph...

Category

Antique Mid-19th Century American Victorian Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Copper

Miniature Daguerreotype Family Portraits with Hand Coloring in Gutta Percha Case

$850

Antique Golf Ball, Gutta Percha

Located in Oxfordshire, GB

Solid Mesh Gutty Golf Ball. A very rare solid moulded unusual diamond/square mesh pattern gutta percha golf ball in original, well used condition. The 1890's gutty ball with no name ...

Category

Antique 1890s Sports Equipment and Memorabilia

Materials

Other

Antique Golf Ball, Gutta Percha

$908

Gutta Percha Golf Ball, Bramble Pattern.

Located in Oxfordshire, GB

Solid 'Paxton's Special Bramble' Gutty Golf Ball. A solid moulded bramble patterned gutta percha golf ball in used condition. The 1900's Gutty ball still has a good amount of the ori...

Category

20th Century British Sports Equipment and Memorabilia

Materials

Rubber

Gutta Percha Golf Ball, Bramble Pattern.

$684

Free Shipping

Mingays Patent, Gutta Percha, Golf Ball

Located in Oxfordshire, GB

Mingays Liquid Core Bramble Golf Ball. A very nice bramble pattern golf ball with original paint which remains bright and with minimal paint loss. The gutta percha covered, rubber co...

Category