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[DICKSON, William, photographer.]
Ambrotype of two young men holding hands.
[Glasgow, 1860s.]
Sixth-plate ambrotype (c. 70 x 80 mm), with subtle hand tinting; gilt mount, in original banded leather Eichmeyer case with brass catch and clasp and embossed gilt stamp to base ‘Dickson 16 St Enoch Sq. Glasgow’, red velvet cushion inside lid; overall very good.
A very attractive ambrotype double portrait showing two seated young men holding hands, with subtle hand-tinting to their faces and hands.
The two men sit in an affectionate pose, with their joined hands resting in one man’s lap while his other hand rests on his companion’s shoulder. Both men look directly at the viewer.
‘Like daguerreotypes, ambrotypes were unique images, typically small portraits presented in hinged, padded cases. However, they were easier and less expensive to produce, and were popular throughout the late 1850s’ (Oxford Companion to the Photograph). The attractive case bears the stamp of the photographer William Dickson of Glasgow, who operated from 16 St Enoch Square between 1858 and 1873.
