Crayon Portraits 1840 – 1885

We just finished making copies of Pam’s Great Grandmother Martha Roper -born May 9, 1866 the portrait was supplied by cousin Brenda Clowers. The portrait seems to a crayon portrait which was the largest class of prints from the 1840 – 1885 made by the development process. The process included a weak photographic image which was used as the basis for extensive handwork with charcoal and pastels. The original size of this print was about 16×20. Because the photographic image was very dim with little details the image has the  looks of half photo and half painting.