Magical Hand-colored Sixth Plate Ruby Ambrotype of PA Folk Art Identified Portrait Painting cast graphite hand it has since been taped

it has since been taped in a few places on the reverse side to hold it together

I am completely taken with this antique cyanotype--formally

with the pattern of the way the splint has weathered amplifying the woven construction of the basket in just the right way

I'm pretty certain this gang of seven was once part of a larger animal fleet produced by R

Magical Hand-colored Sixth Plate Ruby Ambrotype of PA Folk Art Identified Portrait Painting cast graphite hand it has since been tapedCompletely wonderful and really quite magical feeling, this is a mid 19th c. hand colored ruby ambrotype of a portrait painting, the subject of which a handwritten note on the inside of the case identifies as a young Sarah Ann Sheibley, painted by her school teacher at the Sheaffer School: a Samuel Weidler Jr. A bit of searching turns up a several Sarah A. Sheibleys of Pennsylvania, and a few Weidlers who were teachers, and I believe the Sheaffer