Remarkable quarter-plate ambrotype showing a large group of well-dressed 19th-century tourists posed on a rocky forest path in the White Mountains of New Hampshire—arguably the premier American destination for elite sightseeing during the antebellum era.

At least nine men and women are visible, most in fashionable capes, bonnets, and coats, posed along a steep wooded incline likely leading to or from a scenic viewpoint or waterfall. The composition is naturalistic yet carefully staged—typical of the early touristic portraits created for wealthy visitors to this rugged and romanticized region. The White Mountains were made famous by Hudson River School painters and travel writers alike, and trips to places like the Flume Gorge, Franconia Notch, or Mount Washington became a rite of passage for upper-class Northeasterners in the 1850s and 1860s.

This ambrotype stands as a rare and beautifully composed document of American tourism and leisure culture before the Civil War. Outdoor group portraits of this scale and clarity are scarce.