Ambrotype Photo of Four Ladies by early, unknown Saga photographer
[Japan] Early ambrotype showing four ladies in kimono sitting together. The wooden case is inscribed, 'Imari-Ken In' [Imari Prefecuture], which refers to an area of Saga that was so named for a brief period from 1871 to 1872. The red seal inside the case reads, 'Saga. Rokuzamachi. Photo.' The characters on the left are difficult to read but could well be the name of the photographer. Such early dateable ambrotypes are scarce and there are no records we know of mentioning photographers in Saga in 1871 or 1872.
Glass measures 9.8 x 7.3cm.
Case looks to have old burn mark at right. Glass a little jagged at edges, a brown residue along top of glass, and small abrasion at upper left. Image itself is good to very good. p33060967
