Seven Vintage Glass Plate Negatives — Ballet Dancer & Edwardian Children, c.6×9cm

A haunting and evocative collection of seven vintage glass plate negatives — a lovely piece of social history that has survived intact for over a century. The set includes three images of a ballet dancer and three of a group of slightly unsettling-looking children, plus one further subject. Glass plate negatives were the dominant photographic medium from the 1850s through to the early 20th century, before being superseded by flexible film; finding a group of this quality and variety together is increasingly uncommon.

Condition

• Overall: Good condition for age — age-related wear present throughout.
• Edges: All plates have small chips and flea bites on the edges — typical of glass plates of this age and consistent with storage and handling over many decades.
• Images: Intact and viewable.
• Dimensions: Approximately 6 × 9cm each.

Provenance

• Medium: Glass plate negatives —  Glass plates offer exceptional image resolution and archival stability, and many survive in remarkable condition over a century later.
• Subjects: A ballet dancer (three plates) and a group of children (three plates), plus one further subject — a charming and slightly eerie window into Edwardian or early 20th-century life.
• Era: Late Victorian to Edwardian, estimated late 19th to early 20th century.
• Appeal: A wonderful piece of photographic and social history — glass plate negatives can be scanned or contact-printed to produce striking positive images, and are also highly sought after as display objects in their own right when backlit. Popular with collectors of photographic ephemera, assemblage artists, and interior stylists.