Elegant Horn Player

Sixth plate | Only rarely does one encounter such a handsome occupational composition in early photography: Formal in its structure, yet dynamic at the same time — with the musician's fingers poised on the valve stops. This horn player fills out the frame unforgettably: all the various angles and elements balance out in splendid fashion, skillfully arranged by the ambrotype artist to create an elegant embrace of his gleaming brass horn. The musician regards us with total aplomb and an air of accomplishment. This striking sixth plate ambrotype resides in a half case. There is some very light streaking in the emulsion, but the scanning process has exaggerated its visual impact. Chemically similar to tintypes, but with the emulsion on a substrate of glass rather than steel, an ambrotype is a "direct positive", unique and taken directly from life, without a negative — which accounts for the presence and detail valued by collectors. About 1860. Image #A-04; price on request.