A glass plate negative

OBJECT OF THE MONTH APRIL 2024

In 2023, a collection of 118 glass plate negatives of varying sizes arrived in a dusty cardboard box. The box had been found in the Charente region of France. The images show portraits of soldiers in uniform, aerial views of Paris, but above all, scenes from the life of a middle-class family and coastal landscapes, presumably in Brittany.

The selected image is on a 13 x 18 cm glass plate, which shows significant damage, particularly in the lower part, due to the detachment of the photosensitive layer (still collodion? already a dry plate?). The three figures depicted appear in many of the images in the collection. Presumably, we are seeing the grandfather and grandmother of the extended family with their daughter playing cards.

The interior is beautifully composed as a backlit photograph with a view out of the window. On the left side of the image, a reflection in a mirror offers another perspective on the two women. The room is decorated with a potted palm, decorative porcelain, and a wrought-iron pendant lamp, suggesting a photograph from around 1900.

A delightful genre study!