Calotype
A process invented by Fox Talbot as a means of providing a negative so multiple prints could be made from the same image. The negative was a paper sheet coated with silver chloride to create an intermediate negative image. This was a significant advance on the Daguerreotype, where each image was a one off.
This print pre-dates 1844 as that was the year the gent in the picture died, so it was taken sometime between 1841 and 1843. Exposure time would have been several minutes hence the lady is using a chair as support to prevent movement during exposure. When viewed full size the image shows vertical areas that are out of focus. No doubt the result of the paper not drying flat after the coating process. Years ago when I had a darkroom and a large format camera ( necessary for the larger neg size ) I had a go at this process so it is familiar.
Don
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