Samuel and Sarah Biddle

It's common with daguerreotypes - part of the process of making them (they generally used a gold foil mat).

AncientFaces thank you

Thought it must be gold as not tarnished after a century

Her hair is def earlier than 1860's.

Linda Rushing I know collars were detachable. Collars were being used like that into the 1950s. I have some of the ones my mother crocheted for that purpose.

However, the neckline was different requiring the sleeves to be set in differently. Her dress has the sleeves set in at the shoulder seam. In the 1830's, the shoulder seams would have been lower than the top of the shoulder. Her collar would not have set right with a 1830 neckline.

Full sleeves were fashionable for many decades, but in the 1830's, the fullness was at or near the top of the sleeve. BY the 1860's the fullness of the sleeve..if it wasn't simply fitted all the way...started at the elbow or lower.

Not every woman dressed in the height of fashion, but I would assume that to have her photo taken back then, she would have worn her best, most fashionable outfit, not an everyday working dress.

The hairstyle is typical of the 1860's as well.

Although most women in the working classes could not afford to to keep up with fashion, and fashion didn't change drastically every year or two back then. Lower middle class women usually had only one or two dresses (hence, the detachable collars that could be rotated for different looks), there is a 3 decade time span between the fashions of the 1830s and the 1860s. Dresses could be refashioned to fit current styles, but only to a certain extent. Most dresses simply did not last 30 years, and 30 years later, a woman wasn't necessarily the same size either.

One more thing...it's possible this photo was misidentified and this is not Samuel L. and Sarah Biddle. There is a photo taken in 1920 of the "Six Biddle Brothers," the sons of Samuel L.Biddle. The old men are listed correctly with their birth years and ages at the time of the photo...except for the last one. He is identified as Samuel L., born 1814 and aged 68 years old in the 1920 photo.

Obviously, someone misidentified the man. It is no doubt Samuel M. Biddle (Samuel L.'s youngest son) who was born in 1852 and was 68 in 1920.

The couple in the photo wearing clothes that are much more fitting for the 1860's and 1870's could be Samuel M. Biddle and his wife.

In researching my family...and extended family..history, I found many errors with names and dates, especially in the census records, and mislabeled photos in old albums.

Donna Appleby "Hair was worn parted in the middle and smoothed, waved, or poofed over the ears, then braided or "turned up" and pinned into a roll or low bun at the back of the neck."

If you had plentiful hair,, it could be done up with braids, buns low at the nape of the neck or higher up. But if you had straight, thin, fine hair (like mine and my mother's and her mother's), it mostly stayed flat against the head with little volume even in a bun or roll at the back.

The woman in the photo below is from the 1860's.

Kat Fox I agree. That shiny fabric she's wearing and the cut of their clothes clearly indicate a time closer to 1860-1880.

DeJean Melton That is what I was thinking more to the 1860's maybe but I see in the comments someone knows the name of the couple and with more information it is looking like the correct date. I really am no expert just my own experience on what I have read on what I wear at re enactments . I did look up dressing in the 1830's and it is a bit different. Now my curiosity it truly peaked and I am going to get in touch with fellow re enacting friends that know much more than I do . I love a good mystery .

Did you notice the gloves? Matched with the pattern of her dress!

P.d. Lovato That lace is Beautiful ! I was trying to zoo in I think that might be a lace Shawl ?? I have gloves similar tough to cover my long nails are re enactments so public can't see them lol.

Or this is actually Samuel Marion Biddle, Samuel L. Biddle's son, and his wife...and taken around 1870 or so.

Ree Young not 1870 for sure. Fashions and hair wrong for that. I would say 1857-62.

Tish Reed I thought that too.

Tish Reed Maybe she moved during photo sitting?

Jan Richeson Davis - I thought maybe that was it. But, her fingers are skeletal and extraordinary long and her sleeve looks like there is no arm in it. I wonder if she had an amputation and was trying to camouflage it.

She's wearing what looks like a lace glove on her hand.

It is zoomed in you can see it is a stunning shawl .

Linda Beron I am wondering the same thing.

Actually, daguerreotype photos were used extensively in the 1840 and 1850s. The tintype process was patented in 1857 and gained in popularity, but daguerreotypes were still being produced.

The daguerreotype process was not announced publicly until 1839...though Louis Daguerre had invented it around 1836 and kept it a secret.

So, if this is a daguerreotype, it could not possibly have been taken before 1839 at the very earliest.

Beautiful photo !

Michael Guenther 1850's is the most likely. Good call.

Clara Tanoli you do realize this photo is from the 1800’s right?? 🤦🏻‍♀️

Sarah, you do realize this is sarcasm.

Clara Tanoli You’re confusing sarcasm with wit or humor apparently. Do yourself a favor and look up the word sarcasm in the dictionary. A dictionary is one of those big books that has all the words and their definitions in it. That is sarcasm.

Irene Andrews she’s dead now. Hahaha!

Sarah Farless 🤣

Ann Rockwell Theriault I’m a photo restorationist and hand painting parts of photos was a common practice.

Tom Goodson Even back in the 60s, B&W photos of my kids were a bit colorized.

Ann Rockwell Theriault You are correct. I’ve seen it dozens of times on 50s & 60s era photos.

An attractive couple!