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Lot 145
Ambrotypes
Upward / Onward. Whole plate ambrotype of a musical group, likely a church band, posed in front of an organ. Ca 1876.
Sale 2112 - Visions of America: The Stephen White Collection
Oct 24, 2024 10:00AM ET
Live / Cincinnati

Estimate
$500 - 700
Lot Description
Ambrotypes
Upward / Onward. Whole plate ambrotype of a musical group, likely a church band, posed in front of an organ. Ca 1876.

5 1/4 x 7 1/2 in. (visible) ambrotype, matted and housed in an 11 x 13 in. folk art wooden frame. A group of men and women pose together with instruments in the organ loft of a church, draped with bunting and two banners reading, "1876 / Upward" and "1620 / Onward."

The image might depict congregants of (or descended from) the Pilgrim's First Church of Christ, now know as the First Parish Church of Plymouth. When Pilgrims landed in what would become Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts in December of 1620, they established the first Congregationalist church in America. The group posed in the church organ loft featured in this image are likely celebrating a milestone, tracing their origins back to that seminal establishment.

Text on the banners could also refer to a hymn titled "Onward, upward!" by Ira D. Sankey, which was published in 1876 by Ira D. Sankey.
This lot is located in Cincinnati.
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