English: Self-portrait of Horatio Ross, about 1850 V&A Museum no. 242-1946

Techniques - Daguerreotype

Place - Scotland

Dimensions - Height 13.1 cm (with frame), Width 10.8 cm, Depth 0.7 cm

Object Type - Daguerreotypes (an early type of photograph on a silvered copper plate) were usually protected by glass and sometimes kept in leather or thick plastic cases because the highly polished surface is easily scratched. The image is a unique positive made directly onto the plate without a negative, as in other forms of photography. Many daguerreotype photographers replaced miniature painters as makers of portraits as the process was quicker and less expensive.

Ownership & Use - Daguerreotypes were not made primarily for public display in exhibitions. Such small and intimate photographs were generally produced as private keepsakes and often remained within the family.

People -

Horatio Ross (1801-1886) took up photography in 1845, although he is also remembered as one of the 19th century's finest sportsmen. He was best known for steeplechasing (a form of horse racing) and as a marksman. Ross and his sons represented Scotland in the National Rifle Association championships in 1863