Magical Hand-colored Sixth Plate Ruby Ambrotype of PA Folk Art Identified Portrait Painting cast graphite hand and to that little whiskered

and to that little whiskered mole or shrew

with the pattern of the way the splint has weathered amplifying the woven construction of the basket in just the right way

and an original Nickel Plate Road logo sticker on the opposite side

(Deborah holds a Master's Degree in French Literature from The University of Oregon and Jim is a graduate of Notre Dame University's Great Books Program

2 15/16" diameter at base

Magical Hand-colored Sixth Plate Ruby Ambrotype of PA Folk Art Identified Portrait Painting cast graphite hand and to that little whiskeredCompletely wonderful and really quite magical feeling, this is a mid 19th c. hand colored ruby ambrotype of a portrait painting, the subject of which a handwritten note on the inside of the case identifies as a young Sarah Ann Sheibley, painted by her school teacher at the Sheaffer School: a Samuel Weidler Jr. A bit of searching turns up a several Sarah A. Sheibleys of Pennsylvania, and a few Weidlers who were teachers, and I believe the Sheaffer