portrait of a girl with book
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 shows a young girl holding a book. The back layer is coming away giving it a 3D appearance.
This collodion positive shows a young girl holding a book. The back layer is coming away giving it a 3D appearance.
Object details
Category | |
Object type | |
Title | portrait of a girl with book (generic title) |
Materials and techniques | collodion positive |
Brief description | Tinted; Anon. Portrait of a young girl, 1/2 length, hoding a book in her left hand, 1850s |
Physical description | portrait of a girl with book. top right hand corner is broken, and the back layer is damaged and coming away giving a 3D appearance |
Dimensions |
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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 shows a young girl holding a book. The back layer is coming away giving it a 3D appearance. |
Collection | |
Accession number | E.1177-1992 |
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Record created | June 4, 2008 |
Record URL |
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