Ambrotype post-mortem enhanced with an infant circa 1855

Ambrotype Post Mortem enhanced with an infant in its bed.

In a brown leather Union Case, the left side is covered in floral patterned velvet and the ambrotype is pinchbeck-set on the right side.

Photographs of recently deceased loved ones were part of 19th-century American and European culture. They allowed families to keep a visual memory of the deceased and contributed to the grieving process. They were a precious possession.