Untitled
1857/60
Medium
Ambrotype
Dimensions
Plate: 10.8 × 8.3 cm (4 5/16 × 3 5/16 in.); Case: 11.8 × 9.2 × 1.5 cm (4 11/16 × 3 5/8 × 5/8 in.)
Classification
daguerreotype
Department
Photography and Media
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
61088
Art Historical Context
This untitled ambrotype by B & G Moses, created between 1857 and 1860, captures the intimate scale of mid-19th-century portrait photography. Measuring just 10.8 × 8.3 cm on its glass plate and housed in a protective case, it exemplifies the compact, personal keepsakes popular among middle-class families. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Photography and Media department and classified under daguerreotypes, this work reflects the transitional era when photography shifted from precious metal plates to more accessible glass processes. Ambrotypes like this one were made using the wet collo...