Evocative and highly unusual original tintype depicting a Victorian woman with her back partially turned, concealing her face with a boldly patterned hand fan. Her elegant dress, bustle skirt, and gloves place the image squarely in the 1870s–1880s period, while the whimsical, almost surrealist quality of the pose sets this image apart from typical 19th-century portraiture.

Photographed against a painted scenic backdrop of trees and a tranquil stream, the composition plays with anonymity, modesty, and perhaps a sense of humor or subversion. Unlike most tintypes meant to capture a subject’s likeness, this portrait intentionally withholds identity, creating a more abstract or symbolic image—rare for the medium and era.

An exceptional piece for collectors of vernacular photography, visual oddities, or early expressions of photographic self-awareness and performative identity.