Help date photo, please

[NancyRose]

I'd appreciate help in dating this photo. It's either an ambrotype or cased tintype. I suspect it is Alexvina (Gilmour) Kenny (1800-1890). If I'm right, given her age, this photograph was taken in Glens Falls, New York USA

Thanks so much for any help with this --

-- Nancy

[chinakay]

Hard to see any dateable clothing, but the pose suggests 1870s. I suspect she is actually dressed in a style from a decade earlier because that skirt looks a bit too full. But it's an 1870s pose.

If you can open the case, try a small magnet on the back of the photo...that will tell you if it's a tintype or not. If the case doesn't open, try it on the front. Either way, don't let it touch the surface in case it's an ambrotype which could easily be damaged by anything touching the back.

Cheers,
China

[NancyRose]

Thanks, so much! I'll have to get a hold of a magnet and check to determine the type of photo.

I appreciate your help!

-- Nancy

[JDJames89]

I hate to disagree but I think this is an 1860s photograph. The bonnet, the dress, the frame...it all just points to that. The pose was indeed made popular in the 1870s, but 3/4 portraits appear to have been fairly common in the previous decade as well. I've seen many Civil War era photos with this sort of pose. A bit unusual but not unheard of. I think it's just a matter of coincidence in this case.

I don't think this is the case here, but mulling this over I wonder if reprints were ever made as tintypes?

Either way, I'm not sure if the woman in the photo is quite in her 70s.

[PrueM]

The direct positives (tintypes excepted) are almost always seen as close portraits like this, it's something to do with the combination of fashion, emulsion/colloid/light-sensitive coating, exposure time, and lenses.   I haven't quite figured it out yet, because by 1859 when the albumen print was introduced, they went to full length poses quite a distance from the camera, only zooming back in again come the 1870s.

Anyway, from appearance it looks like an ambrotype to me, but the magnet test will be the clincher 

[jim1]

Agree with JD her dress & bonnet look distinctly 1850's/60's.I take China's point about the pose which is associated with the 70's.I suspect also this is an ambrotype as it's in a gilt case rather than a card wallet.Tintypes became that cheap to produce that the gilt case cost more than the photo so the case was abandoned in favour of a card wallet.

jim

[PrueM]

Agree it's an ambro, Jim, but I have seen quite a few tintypes in the little cases, just like ambros and daguerreotypes - contemporary with ambrotypes, basically.  After the mid 1860s tintypes became stand-alone, card-mounted or as you say little wallets.

[NancyRose]

Hi all -

Just want to let you know that I did the magnet test as China had suggested. But I didn't remove it from the case as I was afraid I'd end up damaging the photo. The magnet attached to the back of the case, so unless there's some other sort of metal in there, this is a cased tintype.

Please let me know if he test is flawed because it was done with the case.

Thanks! -- Nancy

[PrueM]

Hi Nancy,

I'm pretty sure it's an ambrotype, it's such good quality and just not at all like any of the tintypes I've ever seen (and I've seen dozens!)  HOWEVER there's always room for error and it's possible it is in fact a tintype, particularly as your magnet test was positive for iron...the only way to know for sure would be to take the photo out of its case and as there's little point because the date has been worked out fairly accurately, you probably don't want to go doing that  

It's beautiful, whatever it is 

Cheers
Prue