Mr. Nilius Sarkell, Badger Hall; Irish boys. Templemore; Soldiers, Templemore
Alfred Capel Cure
British, 1826–1896
1854
An early mid-19th-century albumen silver print from a paper negative showing a formally posed outdoor portrait of a seated man and a standing woman, made to capture their likeness and social presence.
The image strikes you with its soft, slightly blurred edges—the woman's face especially ghostlike from motion—while the man's upright, cane‑held posture and the richly patterned shawl provide tactile anchors against a hazy, indistinct background.
Typical of photography's early experiments, this print reveals how paper negatives, long exposures, and albumen printing both limited and expanded portraiture, making personal likenesses more accessible and socially visible than ever before.
Medium
Albumen silver print from a paper negative
Dimensions
5 5/8 × 4 1/2" (14.3 × 11.5 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Carey O. Cook
Accession
2.1983.35
Palette
Exhibitions
