Man and woman in Bancroft family
SubjectPortrait of
Unknown
PhotographerPhotographed by
Unknown
Date1845-1855
MediumDaguerreotype; silver-plated copper plate in brass mat package in thermoplastic case covered with tooled leather; velvet pad on the left side of the case when open
DimensionsPlate (height x width): 3 1/4 × 2 3/4in. (8.3 × 7cm)
Other (height x width x depth): 3 1/2 × 3 × 1/2in. (8.9 × 7.6 × 1.3cm)
Other (height x width x depth): 3 1/2 × 3 × 1/2in. (8.9 × 7.6 × 1.3cm)
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineGift of John Huntoon
DescriptionSixth plate daguerreotype portrait of a man and woman in the Bancroft family of South Windsor. They are pictured in probably early middle age. The woman is wearing a dress with a white collar fastened at the neck with a gold-tinted brooch. She has a long chain around her neck (possibly for eyeglasses) that is also tinted gold.
The man is wearing a coat, waistcoat, white shirt with a stock collar, and a bow tie. He has a moustache and beard, and his hair is worn slightly long.
The man is wearing a coat, waistcoat, white shirt with a stock collar, and a bow tie. He has a moustache and beard, and his hair is worn slightly long.
Object number2001.92.8
InscribedOn envelope (not original): "possibly George Bancroft / + wife?"NotesSubject note: Although the subjects have been identified as possibly George Bancroft and his wife (Viola Hills Bancroft), this seems unlikely given that George did not marry Viola until 1874, when he was 30 and she was 21 or 22. The woman in the image looks quite a bit older than her early 20s, and the man also looks to be older than 30. Also, by the 1870s, other, cheaper forms of photography were available, and while it's not impossible for a couple to have had a daguerreotype made in the 1870s, it's a bit unlikely. Without having more information about the family, it's difficult to determine who the subjects are. One possibility is that they are James Bancroft and his wife, Minerva Porter Bancroft (parents of George) -- they would have been in their 40s in the mid-1800s. However, that identification is not certain.
Subject Terms
On View
Not on view
1845-1850
