Pair of early half-plate studio portrait tintypes. N.p., ca. early 1860s. Housed facing one another in a substantial double half-plate brown thermoplastic union case.

A well-preserved pairing of Civil War-era juvenile portraits, presented across two facing half-plate tintypes. Posed in what is clearly the same high-end studio setting over patterned floral carpeting, each sibling stands full-length beside a pedestal table draped in a heavy, fringed Victorian brocade coverlet upon which rests a wide-brimmed straw summer bonnet. 

The left plate features a young girl with shoulder-length dark ringlets who gazes toward the camera. Clad in an expansive, tiered crinoline party frock lavishly hand-tinted in deep burgundy/crimson pigment, she rests her left arm atop the table cover. The right plate depicts a fair-haired younger sibling standing in a striking checked or plaid tunic dress adorned with a bold harlequin-diamond trimmed bolero jacket and wide pleated cuffs. 

[Tintype, Ferrotype, Half Plate, Double Case, Children, Siblings, Hand-Tinted, Crinoline, Bolero Jacket, Straw Hat, Bonnet, Harlequin Pattern, Brocade Table, Thermoplastic Case, Union Case, Cased Image, 1860s Photography, Civil War Era Americana]

Very good condition. Both plates demonstrate fine focal sharpness, deep midtones, and strong contrast. The iron plates show scattered pinpoint dusting and faint surface wipe lines visible under direct light.