Where are you, sweet child?
Decorative backmark for May & Co.
This later 19th century photograph, a CDV, once showed a pretty child, posed upon a chair, with round baby face youth looking out at her parents. Today, we know she was there, but over time the image has faded to a grainy suggestion of its former glory. I don’t know enough about vintage photographic processes to even suggest what has caused the photo to fade so badly. Perhaps it was exposed to direct sunlight, or perhaps it wasn’t developed properly in the first place.
The photographer was May & Co, of Station Road, Northwich, England. Northwich is in the county of Cheshire, northwest of London. I found a reference in an 1892 directory for Northwich, to a George Austin May & Co, photographer in Station Road.
Who Were They? 
After all those years, I’m surprised that there is anything left to see of her – we are talking about chemicals and acid on paper. :) You scan (the digital photo) may or may not last as long!
LikeLike
My first thought was this is a postmortem photo. It may be just the way my computer is showing it.
LikeLike