By Helaine Fendelman and Joe Rosson
Scripps Howard News Service
Dear Helaine And Joe: I found this while going through a friend's pictures. It looks very old, and my friend has no idea who the children might be. We would appreciate any information you can provide. — E.J., Toledo, Ohio
Dear E.J.: Yes, this photograph is indeed very old, and has probably been in existence for 140 to 150 years. It is a charming portrayal of three children, and it is a great shame that their identity was not saved along with their image.
The first permanent photographic image was affixed to a pewter plate in 1827 by a Frenchman, Joseph-Nicephore Niepce. Two years later Niepce formed a partnership with Louis-Jacques-Mande Daguerre, but after Niepce's death in 1833 Daguerre went on to perfect the photographic process that now bears his name.
Daguerreotypes start with a silver-coated copper plate that is put in a camera and exposed to light, and the image is developed by exposing the plate to the fumes of heated mercury. The resulting photograph can be distinguished as a daguerreotype by the thick copper plate on which it is found and by the reflective silvery surface that can make the image hard to see unless it is held at an angle.
In 1854 the ambrotype was introduced, and this called for a glass plate coated with silver nitrate to be exposed to light. This produced a negative image that was developed with pyrogallic acid. The glass plate was then backed with dark shellac or paper to make the image easier to see.
As a general rule, daguerreotypes are of a higher quality than ambrotypes and are more interesting to collectors unless the ambrotype happens to be of a rare or unusual subject. We believe that the photo E.J. has written us about is a daguerreotype, and it is contained in a stamped brass mat with a design that was most popular from the late 1850s to the early 1860s.
Vintage daguerreotypes were last made about 1865, and they were generally out of favor by about 1860. This suggests to us that this piece was probably made in the late 1850s and is certainly pre-Civil War.
The value of a daguerreotype depends on a large number of factors, including the size of the image (larger is generally better), the subject matter (military and outdoor scenes are much more desired than simple portraits of ordinary people) and the condition (both daguerreotypes and ambrotypes are very delicate). Daguerreotypes and ambrotypes are usually found in some sort of case, and the absence of the case in this instance detracts from the photograph's value.
The piece in today's question appears to be a 1/6 plate (2-5/8 inches by 3-1/4 inches), and its condition is about average, with some scratches and slight surface problems. Images of children are desirable, and a triple portrait is unusual. The insurance replacement value of this daguerreotype is between $200 and $250.
(Helaine Fendelman and Joe Rosson are the authors of the Price It Yourself (HarperResource, $19.95). Questions can by mailed to them at P.O. Box 12208, Knoxville, TN 37912-0208.)
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