Portrait of Mary Wilson Corbit and Mary Cowgill Corbit

1853

Maker

C. Towne (dates unknown)

Measurements

7-3/4 in x 6-3/4 in x 5/8 in; sight, 5-1/2 in x 4-1/2 in

Materials

Colored photograph

Credit Line

Historic Odessa Foundation, The David Wilson Mansion, Inc.

Accession Number

1971.1006

Inscription

“C.Towne.” is written along the lower right border.  A typewritten label attached to the top center of the back of the frame says, “1853 / Mary Wilson Corbit / Mary Cowgill Corbit / 5 years old.”

Provenance

Ex coll. Mrs. E. Tatnall (Mary Corbit) Warner

Comments

This photograph, originally black and white and subsequently colored, shows Mary Wilson Corbit in a bonnet with her 5-year-old daughter, Mary Cowgill Corbit, standing on the left.  The coloring has reduced or eliminated halftones and consequently altering the appearance of the image.  The image is that of a daguerreotype, accession no. 1971.1007.

The photo is in a frame that likely dates from around 1900.  "C. Towne," the name in white along the lower right margin, is probably the colorist, whose identity is unknown.