A striking portrait of a Japanese woman from Simoda. The lithograph was made after the daguerreotype Eliphalet M. Brown Jr. made during the American navy expedition between May 1853 and August 1854. Brown exposed about 400 daguerreotypes during this expedition. Nineteen of them were translated into lithographic images, published in 1856 by the US Congress. This portrait is printed by P.S. Duval & Co. in Philadelphia, one of four different publishers.

It was fashionable in the 19th century to print a background color in addition to the black of the print. This was a first step towards later color lithography.

image ca. 21,8 x 15,4 cm
album page ca. 29 x 22,5 cm

ca. 1856