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The Photograph |
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A direct descendent of Mary Neely and
George Spears, Thomas Robertson has been very generous in providing
this photograph of Mary and to give us permission to display it on
this web site.
The original photograph was believed to have been taken in the 1830's using Daguerreotype photography. It is also possible the original was not a photograph at all, but a very high quality portrait. Mary Neely would have been in her 70's at the time this image was commissioned. In the 1860's, a photograph was taken of the original, using tintype photography. According to the custom of the time, the hair and dress was hand-painted. The brows and eyes may also have been hand-painted at the same time. The dress is actually one in vogue in the 1860's, but Mary died in 1851. The original Daguerreotype or portrait has since been lost. The tintype was placed in an oval frame; you can still see the oval markings on the dress. At some point, the tintype was removed from the frame and parts of the hair and brows remained stuck to the glass. Small sections of her lips and forehead were also stuck. An artist may then have painted on or touched up her eyes, hair, brows, and lips, in an attempt to restore it to its original appearance. The photograph has also been lightened and sharpened through Photoshop. |
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Many thanks to Thomas Robertson, |
