Help with Writing on Miniature Portrait

[Mat]

Hi all,
I got stuck trying to decipher the writing I found inside the frame of this miniature portrait (9.5cm). I have some ideas on some of the words, but I do not want to influence you in your reading. Any suggestion, especially on the artist's name, are highly appreciated!
Thank you,
Mat

[Mat]

Sorry for the double post, please remove one!
Thanks,
Mat

[mart]

What I can read quickly,,,Miniature by Florence_______? Asher Craft Studio,   ______Fork  I think it may be Little Fork !!
Or could be Aiken Craft Studio !!  Not sure about the Little Fork, that looks like a Y at the end !! 

[ghopper1924]

Or....the last word could be "York."

[Mat]

Thank you both! I have posted this in other places, too, and I think so far the reading is sure for "Miniature by Florence ??, Ashen Croft studio, Ilkley, Yorks(hire), just the last name of the artist still remains a mystery. I have searched, but no miniature painter from Ilkley turned up so far...

[mart]

LOL !!  York,,Fork !!  Got close !!      Was thinking USA,, not UK !!   Helps to know where to look !!  Never heard of Ilkley before !!

[Pelady]

I will take a crack at the last name.

Sfruneille Straneille Strsueille

[KC]

Looks like Storamaille.  The suffix maille of a last name is used in France and Ireland.

[cogar]

I was thinking the 1st letter of the last name was an "H" .... not an "S".
 

[Mat]

Thank you Pelady, KC and cogar! I searched all variants and still nothing. She seems to be unknown. I have to check if it is in fact a photo miniature ( an overpainted photograph). That would explain that I cannot find any info on the artist....

[Ipcress]

Mat - has this been removed from the mount and appraised ? It looks like a touched up photo from what i'm seeing.

There are only a couple of mentions of Ashen Croft on the net,  which could be errors. And the surname - it's an i  and then double l and not double t

I'd also wondered if it could have been Askew Craft Studio.

Whichever way i look at it - i'm not sure the name is relevant to the value.

[KC]

I have tried every which way to look up using this great online free source:  The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland
http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199677764.001.0001/acref-9780199677764?btog=chap&hide=true&pageSize=10&skipEditions=true&sort=titlesort&source=%2F10.1093%2Facref%2F9780199677764.001.0001%2Facref-9780199677764

[Mat]

Thank you KC, interesting resource!
Ipcress, it has not been appraised, but I had a look inside myself. The note was also inside, not visible when the frame is closed. It is painted on ivory, but as I have learned now, they printed photos on ivory as a base for miniature paintings at least from the 1860s, so still it could be the case. I tried to make a detail picture of the face, are there any signs that make you sure that it is a touched up photo? I am not interested in it's value, just trying to research it out of interest...
Mat

[Mat]

Here is a description of the process of printing a photo on ivory from 1861: http://albumen.conservation-us.org/library/c19/fry.html

[cogar]

"WOW" ......... is all I can say after reading that "printing" process description.