Salted paper print from paper negative of Miss Binney by Hill & Adamson, 1843-47
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.I love the details of her dress style. Note the beautiful black lace mittens. On one arm she wears a bracelet which I think is braided hair jewelry which was popular in that time. It’s hard to see on the photo but she also wears a ribbon waist band of plaid pattern. The vee waisted off-shoulder bodice is adorned with a lace Bertha. From the photo I cannot make out clearly if the ribbon bows are attached to the Bertha or to the bodice of the dress, but I suspect the latter. She is holding something in her hand, maybe a flower? Around her neck is a kind of cord necklace. Sometimes they used to have a pen attached at the end of it. She has a charming expression, very rare for an early photograph where the sitters were mostly stiff and without the hint of a smile. And she has the most perfect curls, typical of the 1840s.
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source: MET Museum
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