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Portrait of Martha Emma Roper

Daguerreotype
1851 (photographed)
Artist/Maker
William Edward Kilburn (photographer)
Place of origin
London (photographed)

Kilburn opened a Daguerreotype studio in London in 1846. He advertised his portraits in the press stating that 'The likeness taken by the photographic process serves merely as a sketch for the miniature, which is painted by M. Mansion, whose productions on Ivory are so celebrated in Paris. They have when finished all the delicacy of an elaborate miniature, with the infallible accuracy of expression only obtainable by the photographic process. Three hand-coloured Daguerreotypes by Kilburn were shown at the Great Exhibition in 1851.


Object details

Categories
Photographs
Portraits
Object type
Daguerreotype
TitlePortrait of Martha Emma Roper (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Photograph, coloured
Paper
Daguerreotype
Hand Coloured
Brief description
Portrait of Martha Emma Roper, hand-tinted daguerreotype in gilt mount and maker's case embossed with the studio name, by William Edward Kilburn. British, c.1851.
Physical description
The portrait shows a young woman in three quarter-length, with ringlets in her hair and a tartan dress with a pink bow around her neck. She is seated on an ornate dark wooden chair and she holds a partially open book. It is a hand-tinted gilt Daguerreotype in a plush-lined papier-maché case, embossed with the studio's name and the Royal arms.
Dimensions
  • Image height: 9cm
  • Image width: 6.5cm
  • Plate height: 12.2cm
  • Plate width: 9.7cm
Style
Victorian
Production typeUnique
Gallery label
  • British Galleries DAGUERREOTYPES
    Daguerreotypes are the earliest widely known photographs: their startling clarity is still impressive. The image is made on a brightly polished sheet of silvered copper. This process was initially used almost entirely for commercial portraiture. The photographs here by early amateurs, Horatio Ross and William Edward Kilburn, show a fishing scene and a portrait, prototypes of the ever-popular 'family snapshot'.(14/07/06)
  • Object Type
    Daguerreotypes (an early type of photograph on a silvered copper plate) were usually protected by glass and sometimes kept in leather or thick plastic cases because the highly polished surface is easily scratched. The image is a unique positive made directly onto the plate without a negative, as in other forms of photography. Many daguerreotype photographers replaced miniature painters as makers of portraits as the process was quicker and less expensive.

    Ownership & Use
    Daguerreotypes were not made primarily for public display in exhibitions. Such small and intimate photographs were generally produced as private keepsakes and often remained within the family.

    People
    Kilburn opened a Daguerreotype studio in London in 1846. He advertised his portraits in the press stating that 'The likeness taken by the photographic process serves merely as a sketch for the miniature, which is painted by M. Mansion, whose productions on Ivory are so celebrated in Paris. They have when finished all the delicacy of an elaborate miniature, with the infallible accuracy of expression only obtainable by the photographic process. Three hand-coloured Daguerreotypes by Kilburn were shown at the Great Exhibition in 1851.(14/07/06)
  • Daguerreotypes are unique, positive images made on highly polished copper plates coated with light sensitive silver. The neutral grey tones were criticised for making the sitters appear corpse-like. For a more life-like effect, daguerreotypes were sometimes painted over by hand. Kilburn opened his portrait studio on London's Regent Street in 1846, and was awarded a prize medal for his daguerreotype photographs at the 1851 Great Exhibition.(10/2012)
  • Gallery 100, ‘History of photography’, 2012-2013, label texts : William Edward Kilburn (1818 – 91) Portrait of Martha Emma Roper 1851 Daguerreotypes are unique, positive images made on polished copper plates coated with light sensitive silver. The grey tones were criticised for making the sitters appear corpse-like. For a more life-like effect, daguerrotypes were sometimes painted over by hand. Kilburn opened his portrait studio on Regent Street in 1846, and was awarded a prize medal for his daguerreotypes at the 1851 Great Exhibition. Hand tinted daguerreotype Given by J.L. Nevinson Museum no. Ph.1-1939 (11 03 2014)
Credit line
Given by J. L. Nevinson
Historical context
Donor of this and other fine Daguerreotypes to the V&A in 1939
Production
Reason For Production: Retail
Summary
Kilburn opened a Daguerreotype studio in London in 1846. He advertised his portraits in the press stating that 'The likeness taken by the photographic process serves merely as a sketch for the miniature, which is painted by M. Mansion, whose productions on Ivory are so celebrated in Paris. They have when finished all the delicacy of an elaborate miniature, with the infallible accuracy of expression only obtainable by the photographic process. Three hand-coloured Daguerreotypes by Kilburn were shown at the Great Exhibition in 1851.
Bibliographic reference
Coe, Brian & Haworth-Booth, Mark. A Guide to Early Photographic Printing Processes. London: The Victoria and Albert Museum in association with Hurtwood Press, 1983.
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
1-1939

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Record createdOctober 10, 2006
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O128453/portrait-of-martha-emma-roper-daguerreotype-william-edward-kilburn/
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