Extremely rare and historically significant ninth plate ambrotype, created as a direct copy of an earlier daguerreotype—likely dating to the early 1840s or earlier—depicting an elderly African American woman dressed in a white lace-trimmed bonnet and dark patterned dress with white collar and fichu. Her expression is somber and resolute, and the image conveys powerful dignity and presence.

The original daguerreotype appears to have been made before 1845, making the subject potentially born in the 18th century. Given her age at the time of the original image, it is entirely plausible she lived through the Revolutionary War era, which would make this one of the very few known photographic representations of an African American woman from that period.

The ambrotype, created as a preservation copy, retains much of the detail of the daguerreotype but shows signs of emulsion breakdown and oxidation, particularly in the chest area. Housed in a deep floral brass mat and ornate pressed preserver. The plate shows characteristic 19th-century wear but remains strikingly legible.

Images of African Americans—particularly elderly women—from the first generation of photography are vanishingly rare. This piece holds tremendous value as both an artifact of photographic history and a direct visual connection to the lived experience of a Black woman possibly born into slavery during the birth of the nation. A museum-grade example.