Ambrotype of Patience P. Crandall
Subject
Title
Date
Description
This ambrotype depicts Patience P. Crandall (1794-1886) wearing a striped dress with bishop sleeves and a large white, flat collar (most likely either of lace or a sheer fabric) completed with a cameo brooch. The loose-fitting dress is fashioned with a yoke across the upper torso which continues over the shoulders, into which the fulness of the sleeves is gathered.
Her hair is styled in what can be surmised to be a low bun, a very popular hairstyle at the time which is seen in many other photographic portraits of this era. Other than her dress and hair, we can see that she lacks accessories common for older women to wear in their portraits. The lack of accessories and more showy pieces adorning Crandall may be due to the fact that she came from a very religious family, being the granddaughter of Elder John Crandall, the first Baptist Elder in the American British colonies who was also one of the founders of Westerly, Rhode Island.
The image itself was placed inside a hinged case with a radially symmetrical floral pattern on the exterior. On the inside, a crimson red and lighter red velvet fabric, protects the photograph.
The subject is posed facing the camera with crossed hands. This relatively simple pose was typical during this era of portrait photography due to the long exposure times photographers needed in order to capture a good, visible image.
References
Beers , J. H. Representative Men and Old Families of Rhode Island: Genealogical Records and Historical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens and of Many of the Old Families, 1908.
Crandall, John Cortland. Elder John Crandall and His Descendants. New Woodstock, N.Y.: The Author, 1949.
Gifford, Paul M. “The Probable Origins and Ancestry of John Crandall, of Westerly, Rhode Island (1618-1676).” Essay. In Rhode Island Roots 32, 4th ed., 32:165–86, 2006.
Lina. “1840s And 1850s Hairstyles.” Sew Historically, February 21, 2019. https://www.sewhistorically.com/1840s-and-1850s-hairstyles/.
Lisson, Lisa. “How to Identify 5 Types of Old Photographs.” Are You My Cousin?, December 21, 2021. https://lisalisson.com/5-types-of-old-photographs/.
“Patience Crandall.” Genealogy. Accessed November 29, 2022.https://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:Patience_Crandall_%281%29.
“Poses in Photos of the 1800s.” Family Tree, March 19, 2014.https://www.familytree.com/blog/poses-in-photos-of-the-1800s/.
Severa, Joan L. “The 1840s.” Essay. In Dressed for the Photographer: Ordinary Americans and Fashions, 1840-1899, 1-84. Kent (Ohio): Kent State University Press, 1995.
Source
Sarah Plympton (Mrs.)