Gorgeous sixth-plate ambrotype of a young African-American woman. In a thought provoking twist the image is housed in a full pressed-paper case with a Star of David design (Berg 4-92). Was she possibly Jewish or did she just like this case? In either case this attractive woman is smartly dressed in a lovely black, form-fitting outfit with a lace collar and sleeves. She is sporting a pair of unusual long drop earrings while posing with her arm resting on a book. She also wears two lightly gilding rings, one of which is a wedding band. This is an extremely striking image with light tinting to the woman’s cheeks and very nice contrast and tonal qualities. It is in excellent condition with a small light white spot seen on the lower portion of the woman’s dress. On the right perimeter there are a couple of areas where the emulsion appears slightly lighter than the rest of the plate. It almost appears to be a wispy wipe, but the plate itself suggests that it was possibly just an uneven layer of varnish when applied. The ambrotype is backed by a blackened silver plate.

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