Early 19th century photographers often looked to friends and family as subjects of their photographs, honing their techniques. English daguerreotypist William Constable (1783-1861) photographed his sisters and family quite often, as seen in this example of his photograph of his sisters reading tea leaves. Constable's sister, Susanna Grece, sometimes assisted her brother, and documented this work in her diary entries. Constable operated his daguerreian studio in Brighton, England, from 1841-1861.
The women were nieces of William Constable and the title comes from note book provided by his sister, Susanna Greene.