Mrs. Arden originally attended Silvy's studio on the same day as her husband (see previous entry) and sat for her portrait in the same set as him (the following image to that of her husband in the daybooks). She obviously wasn't pleased with the result, probably because of the white, frothy concoction that she had chosen to wear, and she returned two weeks later to have her portrait retaken, again in the same set, but this time more soberly clad.

The 1861 census shows that her first name was Mary and that she was 46 in 1861. Her place of birth was St. Marylebone, Middlesex.