Wet Plate Wednesday: Looking at Backgrounds

When I look at wet plate photographs, the first thing I notice is the bonnet.  Shocker right?  Sometimes, that means I end up with pictures where, let us say, the bonnet outshines the wearer.  In this mid to late 1850s 9th plate ruby Ambrotype, the young woman's beauty definitely does justice to her bonnet.  Most of my photographs show solid colored backgrounds, but some feature decorative backdrops.  I especially love the little sailboat on the lake.  Just today, I noticed that there appears to be a little flag on top of the mountain. Decorative backgrounds can help identify the photograph and give further information about the photograph like location and specific dates.  Unfortunately, I haven't been so lucky with mine, so I guess I better get back to research!