Can anyone help decipher writing on an 1845 family portrait?

[BoldNavyCritic]

I have an 1845 drawing of a mother with a child, which my mother, now deceased, bought at an antiques fair many years ago. I don't especially want it, and I thought it would be nice to return it to descendants of the people in the picture, if possible. There is a label on the back, but it's very faded and worn, and some writing on the front. Would anyone be able to help decipher the writing, please? I think I can read some of it, but I won't say what I think yet, in order not to bias anyone else!

Thank you so much for any help.

The image might not be good enough to be useful, in which case suggestions of how to improve this would be wonderful please!

I have no idea but you could try asking ChatGPT or Claude?

The slightly more legible, lower, part on the front appears to perhaps read either 'Anne Mard 1845' or 'Anne Maud 1845'

With the writing on the back, any images uploaded to MN are really degraded so it will be difficult to read more.

May I suggest that you find a free app that you can use to change the contrast and lightness or darkness of the image or invert the colours.

I tried looking at the image from the back, but the image that is viewable on MN is too small to really identify anything. It may be that with the original image you will be able to adjust the contrast etc so that you will be able to more easily read it.

Put the image into a photo package and see if you can enhance it.

I think the bottom reads ‘Rome March 1845’

"Jenny Cook &
Anne Maid"
maybe?

I think the partially underlined word in the label on the back is "Honble", ie the abbreviation for the honorific "Honorable".

I think the next line might include "her child Anne".

Looking at it again, I think you're right.

Does it say 'Anne & Maud 1845'

I want to revise to:

– label includes "her child Anne Cook" (or similar surname)
– front reads
"Jenny Cook[?] &
Anne March 1845"

My next bid for the label:

"daughter[?] of the Honble R[??]".

There's a capital "L" in the top line directly above "of".

There's also an "of the" earlier in that top line.

Label:
[??] of the [??] Lady Mary [name like Bright] Cook[?]
daughter of the Honble R[??]
and her daughter Anne Cook[?]
Roma 1845"

Instead of "Jenny Cook", maybe "Henry Cooks" or "Henry Cookes".

Perhaps the name of the artist?

Thanks for the comments so far. The bottom line on the front definitely reads "Anne March 1845" - there are some fine strokes on the original that make the "March" more clear.
I will go back to the rest when I get a chance in daylight!