Beautiful, cased image of young woman from famous Southern photographers

This beautiful portrait is a small oval albumen print that has been expertly tinted and detailed. This image in the case measures 3” x 3.5” and is covered with glass and held together with an oval copper frame. It is encased in an unusual dark blue velvet case. Inside of case opposite the photo is the photographer’s imprint on silk lining. There is some loss of the silk lining. The photographers were Bendann Brothers.

Two German Jewish immigrants, Daniel and David Bendann, in their teenage years, worked under well-known photographer Jesse Whitehurst. After learning the art of photography, they graduated from his tutelage and moved to Baltimore, Maryland, to open a Whitehurst studio.

By the late 1850s, the brothers made the bold move of breaking away from their teacher to open their own studio called “Bendann Brothers,” first in Richmond and later in Baltimore (see pictures). Initially using the daguerreotype process—the most cutting-edge photographic technology of the time—the Bendann brothers quickly gained fame for their portrait photography.

They built up a clientele that included presidents, actors, and everyday citizens. Though they ended up in Baltimore for most of the Civil War, their life’s work involved photographing many southerners—including well-known Confederate officers.

This is a gorgeous piece, and I am sure the young lady was well-to-do to have this type of hand-colored image in such an exquisite case. It is one of the nicest I’ve seen and being done by such famous photographers as well.