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lockets, brooches, watch cases and other enclosures—
often also containing a lock of the subject’s hair—were
also highly popular in America and Europe.
While the leather-covered cases used to house min-
iature paintings were traditionally plain, the growing
market for photographic cases brought about additional
case decoration. By the mid-1840s, embossed leather
cases had been introduced in the United States—by
John Plumbe Junior and others. The 1850s saw more
heavily embossed case designs, often using lower grade
hides, as market pressures drove down unit prices. Later,
embossed paper-covered cases achieved widespread
popularity at the lower end of the market.
While it is only to be expected in the later era of mass-
production that many of the cheaper cases bore no maker
identifi cation, it is more surprising that the majority of
early casemakers are also unknown. Some makers and
engravers can be identifi ed. In America the names of
Matthew Brady, Benjamin True, Harold Eichmeyer, Da-
vid Pretlove, John Smith, and others can all be found on
labels or embossed discretely in corners of cases, and in
Britain cases made by Thomas Wharton of Birmingham
have also been identifi ed. From contemporary advertise-
ments several more makers are known, of whom Edward
Anthony of New York wasprobably the largest. As most
did not identify themselves on their cases, the scale of
their operations cannot be estimated.
The brass mats which surrounded the image occa-
sionally bear their makers’ names, and were sometimes
patented. Elisha Mander of Birmingham, England
stamped his name even on low quality foil mats. The
surrounding brass frame which held image, mat and
cover glass together bear no maker identifi cation.
Thomas Wharton’s English design for a mat and
preserver pan dates from the early 1840s enabled a
small portrait image to be presented in a larger case. It
was an early example of manufacturers using recently
introduced design registration to protect their ideas. The
back of Wharton’s embossed metal preserver pan bears
the British Royal Coat of Arms, registration No.791 and
a date of August 24th, 1841.
Case manufacturers offered an embossing service
which stamped the photographer’s name and address in
gold on to the outside of the case. Others impressed the
information into the velvet cushion pad on the left side
of the opened case, or stamped it on the bottom of the
brass mat. Relatively few photographers availed them-
selves of this facility, and the majority of leather, paper
and papier maché cased images remain as anonymous
as the makers of the cases which contain them.
The portrait case represents the fi rst and most sig-
nifi cant attempt to market the photograph as a precious
object by adding to its perceived value, and in so doing
the nineteenth century casemakers were quick to recog-
nize the potential of new materials. Foremost amongst
these was the use of thermoplastic to mould elaborate
decorative cases. Pioneered by onetime photographer
Samuel Peck in the early 1850s, the thermoplastic case
industry grew rapidly.
The world’s fi rst signifi cant use of plastics, the union
case married the Victorian industrial ingenuity to the
presentation of the photographic portrait. Over one
thousand different designs of thermoplastic case have
been identifi ed, and are as worthy of the historian’s
interest as the images they contain.
Union cases were predominantly American in origin,
the majority of makers located in and around Connecti-
cut. Major makers were Samuel Peck and Company, A
P Critchlow, Holmes Booth and Hayden, and Wadhams
Manufacturing Company. Amalgamations brought
about larger groupings such as Littlefi eld Parsons and
Company and the Scovill Manufacturing Company,
the latter also being involved in the production of da-
guerreotype plates.CASED OBJECTS
Unknown Maker, American. Herdsman with Cox.
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles © The J. Paul Getty
Museum.