Can some lovely photowhiz clean up my mystery man?

[PrueM]

Siouxzie,
Can you scan the rest of the photo?  It would  help with the dating (which I love to have a go at!)
Prue

[Siouxzie]

Hi Prue,
The scan is of a photographic glass plate and therefore holds no other information.  I meant to put that bit in my original posting and then took a bit of time working out how to post the image so I truncated my text in my euphoria at having finally succeeded - technical stuff not being my forte.

[PrueM]

Well, that helps anyway, knowing it's glass    So is what you posted the entire image?

Can you describe it for me?  is it in a frame?  Does it have black paint over the back of the piece of glass?  Is the photograph enhanced with painted details?

Lots of questions, but hopefully I'll be able to give you an answer eventually!

Prue

[Siouxzie]

Hi Prue,
Thanks for the interest. Not entirely the whold image, I managed to cut off his hand which is placed on his knee.  No it's not in a frame, it is about 7 cm wide by almost 9 cm long.  yes almost the entire of the back of the glass is covered in black.  No I don't think there are any painted details.

Siouxzie

[Siouxzie]

Prue,Have just realised I cropped off a cross too, which you can just see on the bottom edge of my scanned image, theres a ring then a cross.

Siouxzie

[PrueM]

I wonder what the cross was?  Possibly a religious decoration?

Anyway, I can pretty safely say that what you have is known to us photographic conservators as a "Wet Collodion Positive on Glass" - a more familiar term is "Ambrotype", which is another type of image on glass, put together very differently but with a similar visual result.

These photos were only produced for a short period, during the 1850s and 1860s.  It could possibly be a little later than that, but the reason they died out was that tintypes, and then positive prints on paper were introduced, which were much easier to make and also cheaper than images on glass.

Does that help to narrow down who the boy might be?

If you don't have the photo stored especially carefully, you might want to consider it, as they are very fragile and the black varnish on the back in particular can flake off.

Hope that helps you!

Prue

[Siouxzie]

Smashing Prue,
Thanks for that, yes my husband says the image is on the front of the glass.  I have it wrapped up very carefully, as there are areas already where the black has come off.  I am liking the earlier time scale, I would very much like this man to be my great great grandad Robert Waters who was born in Berbice British Guiana in 1847, but was back in the UK by 1851 when his next sibiling was born in Upper Clatford Hants.  I think your 1850's to 60's period works well with the age of the young man in the picture possibly being my Robert.  As he would be 13 then. 

Siouxzie

[PrueM]

Excellent!  I hope he is who you think he is, that would be wonderful.
Enjoy your special picture!
Prue

[liverpool annie]

Wonder if it was a first Communion photograph or Confirmation ?

Annie