Early Maine Photography

A ninth plate image of a young woman was photographed by George W. Campbell of South Berwick. Photographers in smaller communities sometimes relied on painted backgrounds in place of the more expensive drapes and furniture. In this ambrotype, a young woman was photographed against a freely painted backdrop resembling the decorative wall paintings of the period. The maker's card reads "George W. Campbell, Photograph and Ambrotype Artists, over I. G. Tompson's Store, South Berwick, ME."