Description: RARE Ca. 1840’s DAGUERREOTYPE OF EIGHT-MEMBER AMERICAN PIONEERING FAMILY. SIZE: Case measures 3 3/4 by 3 1/8 inchesNinth Plate (2 by 2 1/2 inch) image. Studio arrangement. Six children with their parents. The modest size of the Daguerreotype suggests they were a family of limited means, as these were very expensive around the time of their invention. My description of them as a "pioneering" familyis generic. They may have been rural farmers, but certainly were not engaged in industrial urban trades. A Daguerreotype of this early date with an entire large American family clearly with a "frontier aura" is very rare. Condition: The leather case is quite worn in places, especially the edges. See the photos. The binding has become separated for about an inch. The embossing is good. The interior brasswork and the Dag itself are in wonderful condition.The protective glass, when I photographed it, reflects some tiny dust specks. They are not on the Dag. Here's some general info on Dags:The daguerreotype was invented by Louis Daguerre in 1837. Initially, daguerreotypes were presented to the sitter in a book-like case of embossed paper or leather,such as the one listed. The fragile plate was protected by a “cover glass” and sealed inside a preserver frame and ornate brass. After 1850, the Union case, as it was known, was molded from a thermoplastic material. Here’s how it was made:A sheet of copper was plated with a thin coat of silver. This plate was then cleaned and polished to a mirror finish. Next, it was sensitized in a light tight box with iodine and bromine vapors until its surface turned yellow. The reaction between the iodine vapor and the silver coating produces light-sensitive silver iodide.Once sensitized, the plate was kept in a lightproof container and inserted directly into a camera, where the exposure was made. Development was then accomplished by placing the exposed plate face down over a source of heated mercury fumes until the image appeared. Chemically, the mercury merged, or amalgamated, with the silver creating a milky white image. The image was fixed (prevented from undergoing further development) in a solution of sodium chloride, or table salt. The plate wass treated with gold chloride, which intensified the image. Finally, the plate was washed in distilled water and dried.Exposure times for early daguerreotypes ranged from three to fifteen minutes, but after improvements to lenses and the introduction of bromine, which increases the sensitivity of the silver compounds on the plate, it was possible to make a portrait with an exposure of about one minute. Due to the nature of the process, daguerreotypes are mirror images of their subjects, creating a three dimensional effect viewed from certain angles which is a distinguishing feature from later, less valuable, ambrotypes.
Price: 290 USD
Location: New York, New York
End Time: 2024-08-02T21:39:37.000Z
Shipping Cost: N/A USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Type: Photograph
Production Technique: Daguerreotype
Subject: Family
