Posted By:
jasonNice item!
Just to add my thoughts - as Barry surmised, it is definitely an ambrotype and if I had to guess, I would put a date of 1861-63 on it given the dress which looks like it is just one step removed from the fireman type uniforms of the late 1850s.
I think Barry is right again on the conservation side. A good ambrotype restorer can do a decent job at covering over emulsion crazing but I fear there are just too many problems with this piece. Still very collectible though! Whoever won it needs to get this retaped with Filmoplaste P90 asap and stop that dammed metal plate from scraping off any more emulsion from the back.