5387

Ambrotype Portrait Spanish Lady by SF Photographer William Shew [173744]

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Photographic Images - Antique Start Price:50.00 USD Estimated At:400.00 - 800.00 USD
Ambrotype Portrait Spanish Lady by SF Photographer William Shew [173744]
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[?]Live Online Auction Starts In 2024 Nov 25 @ 08:00 (UTC-8 : PST/AKDT)
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5.75 x 4.75". Framed, but frame cover is detached. Gold frame, marked in lower margin from his 113 Montgomery address. The photo frame must date to the 1855-1860 period, as Shew moved to expanded quarters after 1860..
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William Shew learned the daguerrotype from Samuel F. B. Morse in New York. He came to California in 1851. Tried mining, but that didn't work. He set up a portable daguerreian saloon in San Francisco in July, 1851. William appears to have toyed with ambrotypes as early as 1854, according to Palmquist. Shew opened his Montgomery street address late in 1855. Shew's early ambrotypes are important. He claimed to have been taught by Cutting himself "suggesting he had the implicit right to practice Cutting's process", wrote Palmquist. Shew showed off his ambrotypes at the Mechanics Institute Fair of 1858. His brother Jacob Shew "converted to ambrotype" in 1856, according to Palmquist. Shew was widely known as a portrait artist. In the 1850's Shew actively participated in politics at the Free-Soil Convention and later served on the Board of Education. [Ref: Palmquist, Mautz]. The Spanish lady is important in itself as a possible Californio, a person born in California before the Gold Rush, who were often of Spanish descent. Unfortunately, the woman is not identified.. [ San Francisco California Robert Coelln Collection