Half Plate Portrait Daguerreotype of a Young Man

Author: BRADY, Matthew
Title: Half Plate Portrait Daguerreotype of a Young Man
Publication: New York: Brady's Gallery, [circa 1848]

Description: Hardcover. Half plate daguerreotype of a young man. Approximately 5" x 6". Patterned leather case with image in an oval mat and the name of "Brady's Gallery, Broadway, New York" cut into the plush red velvet or felt facing the image. Spine of the case neatly restored and with a little rubbing, button catch present and working, some tarnish spots on the gold mat, two tiny spots and faint evidence of careful cleaning on the image. Overall very good or better, the image is just about fine. A well-dressed but unidentified young man in a suit with cravat, watch fob, and a neat goatish beard stares intently into the camera; his shirt bears subtle pale blue hand-tinting. Both the subject's dress and the plain oval mat with sandy finish seem to indicate a date of the mid-1840s, while the braided preserver or border pushes the estimated date to around 1848 or 1849 (and we can't help wondering if this was a keepsake left behind by an aspiring 49er, although we have no evidence of that). Brady opened his New York Gallery in 1844 and continued it at this address until 1853. Brady was the most popular photographer in America in the mid-19th Century. While his daguerreotypes are not really rare, half plate or larger images are very scarce. This is an attractive and intense image.

Seller ID: 426946

Subject: Americana, Photography