For sale is an amazing 1903 collection of SEVEN DRY PLATE PHOTO NEGATIVES of Portraits of Ladies from the are of Worcester, Massachusetts. One of the woman in the portraits is believed to be Ida Smith. The photo plates were manufactured by the American Dry Plate Company, Worcester, Massachusetts. This specular set Victorian era studio portraits of a various women is a rare find. Each glass plate is unbroken but there is surface wear and picture loss at the edges. These photos were taken in the area of Worcester, Massachusetts. The images depict a woman wearing wearing an expensive gown or wearing cultural outfit while playing a tambourine. Each Dry Plate negative measures about 5 inches by 4 inches. A great photography collectible.
The “developed” photos shown with this listing were digitally developed by taking a picture of the glass slide and then using photograph editing software to publish the negative image. This sale is for the original glass negative only. The developed pictures are included to illustrate the image in the negatives.
Photographic plates preceded photographic film as the target medium of photography. Dry plate, also known as gelatin process, is an improved type of photographic plate invented by Dr. Richard L. Maddox in 1871. By 1879, the first dry plate factory was established. With much of the complex chemistry work centralized into a factory, the new process simplified the work of photographers, allowing them to expand their business.
