As I don't know what photographic technique was used to take FS photo, it is possible that her stance is due to stillness required to get the picture on the plate. If it were a Brownie type camera, then it may just be that she was a bit reserved.
It's unlikely that a plate was used. Kodak introduced the first roll film camera in the 1890's. From "The Photographic Collector's Notebook" at
http://www.rit.edu/~andpph/tphs-filmnumbers.html :
A Brief History of Kodak Roll Film Numbers
The earliest Kodak roll films were made for specific cameras and were listed by the camera name. For example: The year 1900 Kodak Condensed Price List stated under:
Eastman's Transparent Film, Light Proof Kodak Cartridges: Roll Film, 6 Exposures, 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 inches, for the No.1 Folding Pocket Kodak Roll Film for the No, 1 Panorama Kodak, 3 exposures,
As more cameras were introduced using the same film size, the listings of camera names became cumbersome, particularly with the limited space on film cartons.
In 1912 or 1913, it was decided to bring more system to the film size problem and assign numbers to each film. First listing was in the Condensed Price List of 1914, which gave the cameras by name with their corresponding film number. In 1919 the camera listing was deleted and the film was listed only by number.
Starting with No. 101, the numbers, seemed to have been assigned in the order in which the film was introduced to the market. For example:
101 (3 1/2" x 3 1/2") was originally produced for the No. 2 Bullet camera, announced in 1895
102 (1 1/2" x 2") for the Pocket Kodak was also announced in 1895
115 (7" x 5) for the No 5 Cartridge Kodak Camera announced in 1898
120 (2 1/4 x 3 1/4) for No. 2 Brownie announced in 1901
I think a Brownie-type camera is a good guess. The Brownie was first introduced in 1900 (source:
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/consumer/products/techInfo/aa13/aa13.shtml ). A cheap camera, it was marketed towards children and sold for $1. Millions of the box Brownies and folding Brownies were sold in the US and Europe (Kodak manufactured the Brownies in the US, the UK, and France). Among the important German camera companies were Zeiss, Voightlander, and AFGA, although I don't know if they made similar cameras.
The Brownie used medium-size films. The No. 2 Brownie produced a 2.25" x 3.25" negative, large enough for a contact print, a photograph made without enlargement and the negative in direct contact with the paper. Note the lower photo in the album shown above; that's quite likely a contact print.
If the original FS photo is a contact print, the actual image could be much clearer, since it would avoid focusing and other problems associated with enlargements. This photo is apparently still in existence; I asked if it was used for the NOVA documentary and Penny phoned the owner who said it had not been loaned for that documentary.
It may be possible to enhance this photograph, depending on the quality of the original. However, as you note, it is a full body shot and the face is a small area, hence the graininess when it is cropped and enlarged.
I'd be very hesitant to say that I knew what FS looked like based on the reproductions I have seen. One easy way to tell if you are seeing a good reproduction is to look for the dots from half-tone screening (used in reproducing photographs for offset printing). If you can easily be see the dots with the naked eye, a coarse screen has been used; the coarser the screen, the greater the loss of detail. I'd argue that we don't even know what the photo looks like, let alone what FS looked like.
I also think the point that the photograph was taken at two different ages is a very good one. People can change a lot; I think everyone has seen nearly unrecognizable photos of actors in their teenage years.
