Family mystery. Can anyone please help me date this picture of the Peters Famil?

[--Jon--]

This picture was always said to have been my nan's great uncles, lifeboat men and sadly lost at sea at Southport. My great grandmother born Susan Peters 1880 in Southport did lose her grandfather Ralph and uncle Benjamin in a tragedy December 1886. Ralph was aged 60, and his son was 24 when they died. My first thoughts was that this could of maybe been of them, but the age gap makes that look unlikely. I'd love to know who they are. Being able to date this style of picture would be a great help please.

[jim1]

What you have is an ambrotype which would date it 1850's - early 1860's.
If you look at their waistcoats & jackets you will see they appear to be fastened the wrong side. This is because ambrotypes are in reverse.

[--Jon--]

Thanks Jim. I believe the Peters family were in Southport at that time. I am unsure how best to be storing this as it seams to be fading. I'm considering donating it to a museum in Southport for safest keeping.

[--Jon--]

Is there any chance there would be any identifiable marks inside the frame or on the back of the ambrotype itself?

[jim1]

There won't be anything inside. Taking it out might damage the backing. Ambrotypes were coated with shellac on the back to make the image stand out.

[Jebber]

There won't be anything inside. Taking it out might damage the backing. Ambrotypes were coated with shellac on the back to make the image stand out.

I have one which was already loose in the frame, there was a lot of information on the inside back of the frame, including the date 1863.

Jebber

[jim1]

You were very lucky on both counts. It's not a risk worth taking.

[chinakay]

This photo is also a great rarity...but alas, not of the Antiques Roadshow kind  It's mounted upside down! The arch should be at the top, and somewhere I read that this shape was often used in framing a memorial photo. This won't be the case here, though, as ambrotypes didn't have negatives (actually, the photo itself is the negative, that's why the image is reversed) so any ambrotype isn't likely to be a memorial photo. Still, it's an unusual one 

As Jim says, it's early. Wonderful old piece of the past! Why don't you ask the museum how to care for it? If they don't know, they could probably point you at the right person to ask.

Or, you could send it to me 

Cheers,
China

[--Jon--]

Thank you all for sharing your knowledge and advice. The memorial frame would fit with the family story. Do you think it would of been changed after peoples deaths if those frames are known to be memorial?
How old do you think these men pictured are please?
It has been suggested that the man on the left could be Ralph Peters. The age now known of this frame would make Ralph in his 20's/30's.
The man on the right looks a lot like one of the young survivors from the Eliza Fernley called John Jackson