American Civil War Union soldier ambrotype portrait in leather case

American Civil War Union soldier ambrotype portrait in leather case. Ninth Plate (2" x 2.5") ambrotype. Of an American Civil war period soldier in a tunic coat and wearing a Union kepi hat. Buttons and cap buckle hand gilded. Signs that the face has been colour tinted. The invention of wet collodion photography processes in the 1850s allowed the development of two new kinds of photographs--ambrotypes and tintypes. These new formats shared many characteristics with the earlier daguerreotypes but were quicker and cheaper to produce. Primarily used for portraiture, each photo is a unique camera-exposed image and was available in the following standard-sizes. The most common size was the sixth plate. Cased images typically include the image plate and a cover glass wrapped together in a brass mat, placed inside of a leather or thermoplastic case. Dimensions closed: 7.5cm x 6.5cm x 2cm. Condition: Good condition and a clear image.

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