Figure 1.--A dealer tells us that this cased Ambrotype was dated. And 1851 is scratched on the back. This is too early for an Ambro. Perhaps it is a Dag or perhaps the case was reused. But at any rate, almost certainly it is almost certainly a 1850s image.

We do know these military jackets continued to be popular in the 1850s. The memory of the Mexican-American War (1846-48) and the fashion influenced presumably persisted. Destinuigishing 1840s and 50s Daguerreotypes, however, continues to be a problem in assessing in establishing the chronology of these military jackets. We do have a few dated Dags and Anvros which is helpful, although some are confusing. We do have a good idea about the second half of the 50s because of the appearance of Ambrotypes. Ambrotypes like Dags were not dated, but are generally associated with a nanarrow time frame--the mid-1850s to the early-50s. There were no 1840s Ambros. We can not be positive Ambros were taken in the 50s, but the great bulk were taken in the mid- and late-50s because the CDV very rapidly became the principal photographic format in the early-60s.

Created: 2:23 AM 1/7/2014
Last updated: 2:23 AM 1/7/2014