Does anyone recognize this tartan?

[Morris at Heathfield]

There seem to be competing claims for the first color photograph. Levi Hill supposedly invented a process in 1850 that successfully reproduced reds and blues, but he was only able to add other colors by (fraudulently) dyeing by hand. Edmond Becquerel invented a process for color photography in 1848, but it was impractical because the colors quickly faded when exposed to light.

Maxwell invented the three-color method using red, green, and blue filters, and had this photograph taken in 1861. Unfortunately it was not exactly a true-color photograph because the photographic plates were insensitive to red and barely sensitive to green. Maxwell's partial success was largely forgotten until the 1890s, but since then color photography has been based on Maxwell's method. In color screens each pixel consists of red, green, and blue subpixels.

I figured the tartan was most likely a "fancy" sett. The photographic plates are located in a museum in Edinburgh, but I wonder what became of the tartan ribbon.

[figheadair]

I figured the tartan was most likely a "fancy" sett. The photographic plates are located in a museum in Edinburgh, but I wonder what became of the tartan ribbon.

I suspect that the ribbon was simply something at hand that would have provided a number of colours in a small area, nothing more. Perhaps it was his wife's. I very much doubt that it had any significance and therefore see no reason why it would have survived any more than most textile pieces of that era. It would simply have worn out, been re-used or discarded at some point.