Well maintained ambrotype in leather frame

Height 7 cm. Width 6.5 cm. Extremely well-preserved ambrotype from the mid-1800s. Ambrotype is one of the first forms of photography, made on glass plates coated with collodion and later dipped in silver nitrate. They are very sensitive to light, hence the frame which closes like a book. We have never seen such a well-preserved ambrotype before. The technique was patented by James Ambrose Cutting in 1854. The frame has an older repair at the back but is otherwise in very nice condition with gilt front and embossed velor on the opposite side.