Photo Date?

[East Tennessee Roots]

Could someone please give me a general timeline for these photos? The couple in question was married in Dec. 1839. If the little one in the photo is their firstborn, she was born about 1842. Could the man pictured alone be the same as the one in the family photo? The family in question were mountain people of western NC. They may have visited a studio in Wilkesboro or maybe in Taylorsville in Alexander County if one existed at that time. Was photography that far advanced in the 1840 & the 1850s? Would it have been very expensive? The man pictured would have been an older brother of the man in my current avatar photo. The source is someone I believe has pulled photos off the internet in the past and claimed it to be someone in particular. I don't have a lot of confidence in the source.

 

[Sheltowee]

Incredible photos! The men do look remarkably similar, to me. Look at long, slender fingers.
From the clothing- I would guess pre-war? But mountain folk might not keep up with latest fashion trends.

The most intriguing aspect is the position of the right arm. Very unnatural- especially to hold pose for a photo. Wonder what was going on there?

 

[Cornpone and Molasses]

I agree they look like the same man in both pictures.

 

[TerryB]

I have a very similar photo as to clothing and hairstyle. It dates to 1860. That would be the first. The second is probably post-1869 because that's when you start to see women's ears.

 

[East Tennessee Roots]

The source is someone I believe has pulled photos off the internet in the past and claimed it to be someone in particular. I don't have a lot of confidence in the source.

The same source claims this is their oldest son born about 1846-47. He was conscripted into the 11th NC Infantry in Nov.1864. He was seriously wounded during the Petersburg breakthrough on April 2, 1865. He was captured in a hospital in Richmond on April 3rd. He died while still in Federal custody in July after taking the Oath. He's buried in an unmarked grave at Holywood Cemetery. This man looks to be a North Carolina soldier (black trim on his uniform), he just seems to be much older than 18.

 

[steamboater]

The first image is either an ambrotype, or a later variant of the ambrotype, a tintype. If the supporting plate is glass, an ambro; if iron coated with dark varnish, a tintype. Ambros were invented in England, and patented in 1851. To legally use the ambro process in the US, a US studio would have paid for the contract to do so, and these first US contracts were generated in 1854. The tintype was an American variant, released to US artists in 1856.

The second likeness could be either of the above, or possibly an albumen print on paper. All three would have been available to sit for in small towns by 1860.

 

[steamboater]

Incredible photos! The men do look remarkably similar, to me. Look at long, slender fingers.
From the clothing- I would guess pre-war? But mountain folk might not keep up with latest fashion trends.

The most intriguing aspect is the position of the right arm. Very unnatural- especially to hold pose for a photo. Wonder what was going on there?

I do not find odd the position of the arm on the left side of the first pic. He is resting his arm on a table that has a whiteish cover ( doily?). Exposure times by the late 1850's had dropped to 1 to 2 seconds, but body bracing was still needed to avoid motion blurs.

 

[East Tennessee Roots]

released to US artists in 1856.

Their youngest was born in 1856.

 

[Mike Serpa]

The man in the bottom photo has fuller lips? And lighter eyes? Hard to tell.

 

[chubachus]

I would say late 1850s or possibly early 1860s for both photos in the first post. As was said before, they are either ambrotypes or tintypes. The first one I would think is almost certainly a tintype.

 

[East Tennessee Roots]

I would say late 1850s or possibly early 1860s for both photos in the first post. As was said before, they are either ambrotypes or tintypes. The first one I would think is almost certainly a tintype.

Would the photos have been costly for common mountain folk in Western NC.?

 

[chubachus]

Would the photos have been costly for common mountain folk in Western NC.?

Harder for me to say as I am not very familiar with regional photography from the era, but I would guess no as tintypes especially lowered the cost for people to have their photograph taken.

 

[TerryB]

Would the photos have been costly for common mountain folk in Western NC.?

You could get a CDV for a couple of dollars or less. The metal images were more expensive but not by much. Books began to circulate in the 1850s on how to do the wet plate process, which made photos cheap and widely available. So any town with a a store that sold books and newspapers had at least one man who wanted to become a photog. Many of these guys would drive their wagon around, just like you see in ACW photos, all over the county and into neighboring counties. I have some done by an "artist" out of Hot Springs, Ark, who did just that. He also had a studio in Forrest City after the war.

 

[connecticut yankee]

The same man could very well be in both photos. If one or both of your photos are an ambrotype then you might have a late 1850s photo(s). That is the period of about 1855 - 1860. If both photos are tintypes (which they appear to be from your posting). I would say they are very likely of the 1860 - 1865 period. Considering only the image, it depicts the image of individuals whose dress is no earlier than 1850, and no later than 1870, of this I am the most certain. In conclusion, I am betting the images are in the 1855 - 1865 time frame.