Portrait of Sarah Anne Bennett
Photograph
ca. 1865 (made)
ca. 1865 (made)
| Artist/Maker |
By the 1860s, portrait photography had become highly commercial. To enhance business, photographers strove for innovation and novelty.
One short-lived example of this is the 'Crystal Cube Miniature', invented by Henry Swan. When viewed through mirrors and prisms the hand-coloured photograph appeared three-dimensional. 'The result is a living being in perfect relief', wrote a contemporary reviewer, 'he will appear, for all ages, a very substantial ghost of the living and the departed'. This example, showing an ancestor of the donor, has a silk-lined lid shaped perhaps like a coffin.
One short-lived example of this is the 'Crystal Cube Miniature', invented by Henry Swan. When viewed through mirrors and prisms the hand-coloured photograph appeared three-dimensional. 'The result is a living being in perfect relief', wrote a contemporary reviewer, 'he will appear, for all ages, a very substantial ghost of the living and the departed'. This example, showing an ancestor of the donor, has a silk-lined lid shaped perhaps like a coffin.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Portrait of Sarah Anne Bennett (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Crystal cube miniature |
| Brief description | 'Crystal cube miniature', 3-D photograph, portrait of Sarah Anne Bennett, in case. |
| Physical description | Hand-coloured photographic transparency on talc, prisms, leather-covered wooden case with silk-lined lid, 3-d portrait of a woman |
| Credit line | Given by Margaret Bennett |
| Summary | By the 1860s, portrait photography had become highly commercial. To enhance business, photographers strove for innovation and novelty. One short-lived example of this is the 'Crystal Cube Miniature', invented by Henry Swan. When viewed through mirrors and prisms the hand-coloured photograph appeared three-dimensional. 'The result is a living being in perfect relief', wrote a contemporary reviewer, 'he will appear, for all ages, a very substantial ghost of the living and the departed'. This example, showing an ancestor of the donor, has a silk-lined lid shaped perhaps like a coffin. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.3706-2007 |
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| Record created | June 8, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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