Portrait of a man
Photograph
1850s (made)
1850s (made)
| Artist/Maker |
Also known as an ambrotype, the collodion positive was invented by F. Scott Archer in 1822, and was in widespread use by the mid-1850s. To produce a collodion positive, a sheet of glass is hand-coated with a thin film of collodion (guncotton dissolved in ether) containing potassium iodide, and sensitised to the light with silver nitrate to create a collodion negative. The back is then painted black or covered with a piece of dark cardboard or cloth in order to achieve the effect of a positive image.
This collodion positive portrait (ca. 1850) depicts a woman with gilt-detailed jewellery and is cased and gilt-framed.
This collodion positive portrait (ca. 1850) depicts a woman with gilt-detailed jewellery and is cased and gilt-framed.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Portrait of a man (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Collodion positive |
| Brief description | Anonymous collodion positive photograph, hand-tinted in a pinchbeck mount and case, depicting a portrait of a man, ca. 1850s. |
| Physical description | Collodion positive portrait of a man, depicted half length, head resting on left hand, looking to his half left |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | Also known as an ambrotype, the collodion positive was invented by F. Scott Archer in 1822, and was in widespread use by the mid-1850s. To produce a collodion positive, a sheet of glass is hand-coated with a thin film of collodion (guncotton dissolved in ether) containing potassium iodide, and sensitised to the light with silver nitrate to create a collodion negative. The back is then painted black or covered with a piece of dark cardboard or cloth in order to achieve the effect of a positive image. This collodion positive portrait (ca. 1850) depicts a woman with gilt-detailed jewellery and is cased and gilt-framed. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 162-1944 |
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| Record created | June 30, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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