|
Jane - Thanks so much for the suggestions
on researching the printing process. We have several similar pieces to yours
dating from the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition held here in Cordially, Mary Montgomery Curator/Librarian From: Jane Hammond
[mailto:janehammond@xxxxxxx] I have encountered three such photo-textiles in the last few years -
all portraits of young girls, taken in the early 1900s; one could be dated to
1905 through associated family documents. All were printed on a
satin-weave fabric, using an emulsion (or gelatine?) coating used for
image transfer, like a collatype. The granddaughter of one of the
subjects seemed to think the portrait----- may have been taken by an itinerant
photographer. If you have access to any turn-of-the-century printing year
books(Penrose's Pictoral Annual, for example), describing printing innovations
and practices of the time, you may be able to get more information about how
the prints of that era were made. Your example is interesting because it
appears to be a drawing with a photographed portrait head applied. I've
seen similar American Civil War portraits on paper, where the photo-image head
was placed within an etching of a uniformed soldier standing in a formal
setting. This doesn't say much about dating the costume but maybe dating the
process would help nail it down. Jane Hammond On Dec 1, 2008, at 8:29 PM, Kim Baird wrote:
Vivien-- Judging by the man's clothing, 1850 IS too early for the
photo. The jacket and the vest suggest the early 20th century, although the
trousers lacking a crease down the front would indicate very early. I think the
fashion for creasing pants was popularized by Edward VII, although I don't know
if it was before or after he took the throne. The haircut also rules out 1850's. Kim textile historian From: I wonder if anyone could help date the attached image,
brought in to us by a member of the public. It appears to be worked in ink
wash on a sized plain weave silk. Size approx 450mm high The owners
thought it might date from 1850, but that seems unlikely. I understand
"crayon portraits" were worked over lightly printed photographic
images from 1860s to 1900s but wonder if this is later than that. There is a
possibility it could have been done in It would also be interesting to know how often images
created like this are encountered. Thanks Vivien Chapman Vivien Chapman Vivien
Chapman Head of
Objects Conservation National
Museums Tel:
0151 478 4841 Fax:
0151 478 4990 National Museums This email and any files transmitted with
it may be confidential and privileged. If you are not the intended
recipient and have received this email in error please take no action based
upon any information contained within it and delete it immediately without
retaining a copy. WARNING: This email has been checked by National Museums Liverpool for the
presence of computer viruses. However, National Museums Liverpool will
not accept any liability and all recipients are advised to carry out
their own virus checks upon receipt. <email_logo.gif> National Museums Liverpool, Textiles & Organics,
National Conservation Centre |