Stuffed and Crushed Family Heirlooms!

      Stuffed and crushed inside of an old shoe box, was this amazing print. It is called an "albumen print." I've included an official definition from the American Museum of Photography here.

      "Albumen prints outnumber any other type of photographic positive made during the nineteenth century. They have a sepia color and slightly glossy surface. Thin sheets of paper were first coated with egg white and salt, then floated on silver nitrate to make them sensitive to light. The image is created by printing under a negative in sunlight. The finished picture is fixed, washed, and often gold toned before mounting. Invented by Louis Desire Blanquart-Evrard of France in 1850. " The American Museum of Photography

      The twin girls depicted in the old print are Emma and Josephine Diem, relations of my husband. When these twin girls grew older they both married two twin brothers. Josephine, was called Aunt Phinie by younger generations of Wehmuellers and Niermans. It took a random find on the back of a photograph for me to make the connection between the two names. I also was not aware that these two children were twins even though they do look very much alike. I thought I'd never get the confusing information surrounding this old family figured out. But perseverance does pay off!

Look at what I found crushed and shattered inside
an old shoe box. I decided to clean it up a bit in Photoshop
and the results are below.

I could hardly believe my luck! Not only was it very old but
it was an amazing piece of photograph history.