A Gentle Hand (and Short Breeches!) 19th C. Ambrotype of 18th Century Painting in Half Case hook tool as it was stored when

as it was stored when I found it

3 3/8" t x 2" d

it seems a bit of overkill for holding down a stack of papers

pin cushion top

I think this is an incredible photograph

A Gentle Hand (and Short Breeches!) 19th C. Ambrotype of 18th Century Painting in Half Case hook tool as it was stored whenI wish I knew more about this one an ambrotype, found in MA, of an earlier painting, which looks Revolutionary War era to me (and him a bit like John Adams!), at the center of which is the gesture of her hand on his cuff with painted gold wedding band on her finger though I must say it looks a bit to me like the fingers of her other hand, resting in her lap, are crossed! (And the gesture itself feels, perhaps cynically on my part, like a bit of a