Washing Machine

Anonymous

1/6 plate ambrotype

USA

c.1860

Inscribed on the side of the unusual device seen in this primitive ambrotype is the following information:

J. McCarthy’s Improved Washing Machine, Patent Applied For. Pekin, Illinois.

The exposure on this 1/6th plate ambrotype is a bit weak and the image is a bit dark, yet the photographic image remains full of detail. There is a hint of green tint applied to the graphic outline on the front of the machine. The image is reversed out with a blackened tin plate facing the varnished emulsion. The spotting visible in the scan is dust trapped in the varnish when the ambrotype was originally made. This scarce visual record is safely housed in a full case.

$700.00

Steven Evans  Vintage Photography