Artist unknown

African-American horseman with carriage and three people

1/4 plate: 2 3/4 x 3 1/4"

This quarter-plate ambrotype, image on glass, from the late 1800’s depicts a man on top a white horse pulling a carriage with three people. The carriage is stopped, and all subjects look towards the camera. In the background, a flat landscape stretches into the horizon, with possibly water and cliffsides in the distance. In reference to the dimensions of the tintype, plate sizes are based upon the original 6 1/2 x 8 1/2" inch daguerreotype plate size, a quarter plate would be a fourth of the size of that original plate. The ambrotype itself is housed within a metal frame with a loop on top. Along with tintypes, another wet collodion technique, they replaced daguerreotypes as popular options due to being less expensive and quicker to produce.

last half 19th C.

Gift of Dr. Bancroft

1995.558