A Mother and Her Son

This touching ambrotype of a mother tenderly wrapping her arm around a young boy, probably her son, was actually the first antique photograph I ever purchased some eight years ago at a shop in the charming town of Upton, Massachusetts. I guess for that reason alone, I have always been attached to it, but the image itself is very interesting for the details it reveals. Mom has a very large brooch pinned to her dress and she is also wearing a large gold locker around her neck which has been highlighted by the unknown photographer. She has also has ring on the third finger of her right hand and their cheeks have also been tinted red by the artist. What I like most about this picture is that although the young woman and child both have serious expressions on their faces, they obviously loved each other very much when they sat to have their "likeness" taken sometime during the late 1850s. Just who they were or where they lived in America will always remain a mystery.