This portrait is an example of a hand-tinted ambrotype. An ambrotype is a direct positive, made using an underexposed collodion negative. A dark backing is either painted or placed behind the glass plate, which acts to reverse the positive and negative tones of the picture. It would then usually be placed in a lined case, covered in a protective layer of glass and framed. Ambrotypes were popular during the mid-nineteenth century, providing a cheaper alternative to the daguerreotype or the painted miniature.

The sitter is William Ward Booth Junior (b.1837), whose families originated from the counties of Staffordshire and Cheshire. Little else is known about him. The ambrotype has been hand coloured, with gold detail added to the sitter’s buttons and accessories.