Untitled
1856/79
Medium
Ambrotype
Dimensions
Plate: 14 × 10.8 cm (5 9/16 × 4 5/16 in.); Case: 15.8 × 13 × 2.3 cm (6 1/4 × 5 1/8 × 15/16 in.)
Classification
daguerreotype
Department
Photography and Media
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
61090
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
This untitled ambrotype by G. W. Collins offers a fascinating glimpse into mid-nineteenth-century photography. Created between 1856 and 1879, the work belongs to a period when photographic portraiture was becoming increasingly accessible to the middle class. The plate measures just over five inches tall, and its protective case suggests it was designed as a cherished personal keepsake, much like the daguerreotypes that preceded it. Ambrotypes, produced on glass rather than metal, represented an important technical evolution in early photography. The process created a unique positive image tha...