19th Century American Portrait

Hey yall! I was fortunate enough to pick up this old portrait from a local antique store in NC today. Can anyone help with approximate age given the style of frame and the clothing worn by the lady pictured? There was one nail in the back of the frame that appears to be a very old square, A-cut style nail. Thanks in advance for your help!

 

Would you be kind enough to reshoot her on a plain background from straight on? And a photograph of the back please. She looks 1860s-ish but that's partially determined by the width of her skirt and it's distorted in your photograph. The frame doesn't appear to be that old to my eye.

Debora

 

Thanks for your help Debora! Hopefully this helps. The back of the frame is pictured here as well. Do you think this may possibly be a reframe?

 

the nail looks like a furniture tack...
too bad about the damage to the frame....... trying to look like tiger maple.....but likely just a lamination..
It's so hard to draw hands.....

 

maybe a talented amateur for the lady,

is the glass indeed domed ?

 

I'm not sure what I'm seeing. When I said "back" I meant with her in it. Everything provides clues to age, including the stock she's printed on. That said... She certainly does look 1860s. That's based on the severity of her hairstyle, the volume of her sleeves and the width of her skirt.

Debora

 

Yes the glass is domed.

 

And the back was just open?

Debora

 

My apologies. Here is a pic of the back of the photo. It is quite heavy stock.

 

well....on 2nd sober thought...... it's possible I'm not to be trusted with my observations....


https://romaarellano.com/listing/519105889/antique-bubble-glass-portrait-of-spanish


https://www.carolinaphotorestoration.com/frames-for-sale

 

That looks like an enhanced photo to me.

 

This looks like what was called a crayon portrait or solar enlargement. This web page has a good description of what they are all about... https://restoreoldphotosnow.com/inside-the-crayon-portrait/
basically, as they wrote, "a weak photograph that is hand embellished with colored pastels or charcoal." ("Weak" in this case means light, or underexposed.) These where extremely common from the mid 1800s through about the 1920s. They were normally enlarged from the original size, as discussed in the link.

We have had several other discussions of these in this forum through the years.