A seated man actively playing the violin fills this ninth plate ruby ambrotype, a format and process combination that places this image firmly in the 1855 to early 1860s period. The ruby ambrotype achieves its warm reddish-brown tonality through a colored glass backing rather than the dark paper or velvet used in standard ambrotypes, giving the image a distinctly rich appearance. No photographer's imprint is present.

The subject wears a dark sack coat, a loosely knotted bow tie, and checked trousers, and holds the violin under his chin with the bow drawn across the strings in a convincing playing position. His dark hair is swept back at the sides with a small pomaded wave at the crown, and a thin mustache frames his composed, direct expression. The gilt mat is die-stamped in a scrolled cartouche shape, and the pink velvet pad opposite features an embossed foliate pattern in deep red.

Occupation portraits of working musicians are among the rarest subjects in nineteenth-century photography, and the active playing pose rather than a static prop arrangement makes this example particularly compelling. The leather case carries an all-over embossed geometric and floral pattern on both covers.

The image is a ninth plate ruby ambrotype. No inscriptions or notations are present on the reverse or case interior.

From the collection of James Lee Soffer