Sixth-Plate Ambrotype

Sixth-Plate Ambrotype (1855 - 1865), 19th century portrait, vintage case, 2.75 x 3.25. Developed in 1851 by Frederick Scott Archer, ambrotype, or amphitype, hails from the Greek words "immortal" and "impression." These images were impressed on glass through a variant of the wet plate collodion process. They required shorter exposure times than daguerreotypes and were more affordable to manufacture, two factors which contributed to their rise in popularity before the advent of the carte de visite in the early 1860s.

Pictured within one half of this vintage case is a half-length portrait of a stately gentleman, clad in traditional period suit and tie. The bearded man, whose cheeks are tinted pink, is solemnly posing with his left arm propped on the back of the chair on which he's seated. The image is framed by an embellished oval gold frame. Although the front cover is missing, the back panel still retains half of the original closure clasps.

A missing cover and some silvering around the edges of the image, otherwise fine condition.