It is interesting to note that Joseph's brother Charles (b. 1839) was listed as a photographer at 700 Napier Street in the 1881 Census for Normanby in Middlesbrough, Yorkshire.  By 1891 he had moved to 72 Nelson Street in the same town, next door to the Globe Hotel, and was still practising as a photographer.

Notes by Ian Ford:  The photograph is in a collection inherited from my [Ian's] grandfather via my Dad.  On the back is written, "My Granny" (I think).  Unfortunately, I don't know who wrote it.  If it was my Dad or one of his cousins, then the woman is Lucy Ford (née Slaney), who was born at Hayfield, Derbyshire on 3 Feb 1870, and died at Auckland, New Zealand on 28 Jan 1941.  If it was my grandfather (Fred Ford) or one of his siblings who wrote it then she would be one of:  Sarah Lomas Slaney (née Hadfield), born at Little Hayfield, Derbyshire on 23 Feb 1839, and died at Hayfield Derbyshire on 25 Feb 1912; or Sarah Elizabeth Ford (née Rogers), born at Whitehough Head, Derbyshire on 28 Feb 1839, and died at Hayfield Derbyshire about 1901.
Notes by Brett Payne:  The card stock for this photograph was produced by Abraham of London, who was in business in the 1880s and 1890s (Vaughan).  This photographer's studio moved to the premises shown (103 Victoria Street) some time between 1881 and 1887, and by 1901 had moved on to another address on the same road.  The style of the clothes worn by the young lady in the photo suggests a date of the late 1880s or early 1890s.  My assessment, in light of the information provided by Ian, is that the subject of the photo was probably Lucy Ford née Slaney (1870-1941), who would have been in her late teens or early 20s at that time.  This seems to fit with apparent age of the young lady in the photo.  In 1891, Lucy was living with her parents and five siblings at Lucas Terrace, Hayfield, and working as a cotton weaver.  She married Raymond Ford on 22 Apr 1895 in the Parish Church at Glossop.