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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Portrait Miniatures, Room 90a, The International Music and Art Foundation Gallery

Portrait of a Lady

Daguerreotype
1851 (photographed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Kilburn opened a Daguerreotype studio in London in 1846. He advertised his portraits in the press stating that 'Thelikeness 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 obttainable by the photographic process.' Three hand-coloured Daguereotypes by Kilburn were shown at the Great Exhibition in 1851.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitlePortrait of a Lady (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Photograph, daguerreotype, hand tinted, cased, mounted, leather
Brief description
Cased photograph, daguerreotype full length portrait of a lady, William Edward Kilburn, London, c.1850
Physical description
Portrait photograph in a plush-lined papier-mache case, embossed with the studio's name and the Royal arms. The portrait shows a young woman in a blue dress, three quarter-length.
Dimensions
  • Height: 12.5cm
  • Width: 10cm
Style
Production typeUnique
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 'Thelikeness 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 obttainable by the photographic process.' Three hand-coloured Daguereotypes by Kilburn were shown at the Great Exhibition in 1851.
Bibliographic reference
M. Haworth-Booth, Photography: An INdependent Art, V&A Publications/Princeton UP, 1997, pp.23,27
Collection
Accession number
3-1939

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Record createdFebruary 11, 2004
Record URL
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