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MY DAGUERREOTYPES

FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES

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 II. #3 - 9/11/2024 CK

Y6
Unidentified woman ~ girl], John Plumbe National Gallery, W. (Walter) H. Eastman, 75 Court St. Boston, Massachusetts. ca. 1854.

Girl with 1850 Victorian child's dress with drindl Renaissance style front lacing, short lace sleeve.




Creator(s)
Eastman, W. B.
Title
[Unidentified woman ~ girl].
Date
[ca. 1854].
Publisher
Eastman, 75 Court St.
Physical description
1 photograph : ninth plate daguerreotype, b&w.
Summary
Portrait of a girl. Title devised by cataloger. Oval mat. Red velvet lining. 
Case; Eichmeyer case with two horizontal bands running all the way around inside which is a vine with leaves.The Gold gilding pattern is identified in  Nolan, Sean, Fixed in Time,  as gSwag2  (1851-1870). Elaborate latch of two hinges with heart motifs and a connector that resembles a lyre. The Eichmeyer 'book' case, patented Feb. 27, 1855. Henry Adolph Eichmeyer, of Philadelphia, were made of fine leather and beautifully put together. Advertising card reads: 25 cent Daguerreotypes at the Plumbe National Daguerrian Gallery, No.75 Court Street, the oldest establishment of the kind in New England. Founded 1840. W.B.Eastman-Proprietor Copying and all that pertains to the art done at low prices. 
Provenance: Purchased from Clifford Krainik, Plumbe expert,  2024.
 
Subjects
Girl--Portraits.
Genre terms
Daguerreotypes--United States--1850-1860.
Call number
Prints and Photographs Dept. (photo) UTB-9 5.4 (no.39)
Rights
Collection of the Hyden Photography. May not be reproduced or quoted without written permission. For more information,.....from the the collection of Clifford Krainik, (Balltowne).
Source
2361.jpg
"A variant of this is in my book (Sean Nolan) on page 226, “Pressed Flower”. I would have put this among the geometric cases except that Rinhart already named this design Pressed Flower” in their book.
Yours is a more ornamented version, which I call, unsurprisingly, “Pressed Flower Ornamented.” It is not in my book but I estimate it is circa 1854 based on only two dated examples I’ve seen."

According to Craig’s Daguerreian Registry (Revised Edition 2003), Walter B Eastman was at 75 Court Street 1854-1860. It also says that he reportedly bought out Plumbe’s studio at that address in 1847. In 1847 he was a daguerreian at Court & Howard streets; this may be 75 Court street but I’m not sure how to tell. That neighborhood was razed in the 1960s to put in the monstrosity known as “Government Center.”

Timeline
John Plumbe National Gallery, 75 Court Street, Boston, Massachusetts. W. (Walter) H. Eastman
1847. Corner of Court and Howard Streets (~Plumbe Studio)
1848-1849. 11-1/2 Tremont Row
1849-1850
1850-1851 2 Blanchard's Block, in partnership as Hadley (S.D.)
 1851 to 1853. 103 Court Street
1854 to 1860. 75 Court Street
1856  Charleston,  his home

Walter B. Eastman (1819-1864, age 45) was recorded as a daguerreian in Boston, Mass., 1847-1860. In 1847 he was listed as a daguerreotype artist at the corner of Court and Howard Streets. In 1848-1849 he was listed at 11-1/2 Tremont Row in 1849-1850 he listed no business address. In 1850-1851 he was listed at 2 Blanchard's Block, in partnership as Hadley (S.D.) and Eastman. He was listed alone at the same address (103 Court Street) from 1851 to 1853. From 1854 to 1860 he was listed as Eastman & Co. at 75 Court Street. He is also reported to have operated Plumbe's Gallery at 75 Court Street at some point (probably 1847). "Eastman" and "Eastman & Co." have both been noted stamped on daguerreotype mats.


Framing: Matted & Framed This is an original  daguerreotype by notable daguerreian Walter B. Eastman of Boston, MA. Recorded as a daguerreian in Boston, Mass., 1847-1860. In 1847 he was listed as a daguerreotype artist at the corner of Court and Howard Streets. In 1848-1849 he was listed at 11-1/2 Tremont Row in 1849-1850 he listed no business address. In 1850-1851 he was listed at 2 Blanchard's Block, in partnership as Hadley (S.D.) and Eastman. He was listed alone at the same address (103 Court Street) from 1851 to 1853. From 1854 to 1860 he was listed as Eastman & Co. at 75 Court Street. He is also reported to have operated Plumbe's Gallery at 75 Court Street at some point (probably 1847). "Eastman" and "Eastman & Co." have both been noted stamped on daguerreotype mats. He reportedly bought out Plumbe


References:
Krainik, Clifford and Michele. A Special Space, Lost and Found Images of Abraham Lincoln's White House Stables. https://www.whitehousehistory.org/a-special-space-lost-and-found-images-of-abraham-lincolns-white-house-stables
Krainik, Clifford and Michele, https://sova.si.edu/record/nasm.1990.0009
Krainik, Clifford and Michele, Union Cases: A Collector's Guide to the Art of America's First Plastics
Carl Walvoord
https://www.c-span.org/program/public-affairs-event/the-coming-of-age-of-the-white-house/102419

Excellent Library of Congress Source: The Library of Congress (.gov) https://share.google/XxH0kQrj6TexfgKy7
Plumbe's Dream
https://www.loc.gov/ghe/cascade/index.html?appid=531a16f45bec4008bc19de2e805be362&bookmark=Plumbe’s Dream

IV. #6 - 2024, CM, RICE

FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY 

Creator(s):  RICE, SAMUEL, 184 
CANAL STREET. NEW YORK, NEW YORK
Title: [MARY K PRADER, ANDOVER].
Date:  [ca. 1854].
Publisher:  RICE, SAMUEL, 184 
CANAL STREET. NEW YORK, NEW YORK
Physical description
1 photograph : daguerreotype : 1/6 plate : 
Summary
MARY K PRADER
ANDOVER
PHOTOGRAPHER: 
Hair:  center part puffed and padded coiffed 
Dress: Early 1850's Dark, long bodice, two white collars
Jewelry: black ribbon cuffs;  gold painted earrings and long Y-necklace chain known as chatelaine leading to waist pocket; broach at neck
Table:  botanical print, wildflowers
Provenance:  From Carl Mautz, from collection of Mr. BRO, PORTLAND OREGON.
WHO DOES SHE REMIND YOU OF:  Gustof Klimpt model (BAUM); school mistress, with a châtelaine, the case has her name written as Mary K Prader, Andover. Andover could be various schools. Andover, England; Andover also known as Phillips Academy 20 Main Street, Exeter, NH ;

A chatelaine is a decorative belt hook or clasp worn at the waist with a series of chains suspended from it. Each chain is mounted with useful household appendages such as scissors, thimbles, watches, keys, smelling salts, and household seals. The name chatelaine derives from the French term châtelaine which meant the mistress of a chateau. She would have worn a belt for her keys, which the current meaning of chatelaine derives from. 

Chatelaines were worn by many housekeepers in the 19th century and in the 16th century Dutch Republic, where they were typically used as watch chains for the most wealthy. Similar jewelry was also worn by Anglo-Saxon women, as seen from the burial record, but their function is uncertain. Status among women The chatelaine was also used as a woman's keychain in the 19th century to show the status of women in a wealthy household. The woman with the keys to all the many desks, chest of drawers, food hampers, pantries, storage containers, and many other locked cabinets was "the woman of the household". As such, she was the one who would direct the servants, housemaids, cooks and delivery servicemen and would open or lock the access to the valuables of the house, possessing total authority over who had access to what.

Frequently, this hostess was the senior woman of the house. When a woman married and moved into her father-in-law's house, her husband's mother would usually hold on to the keys. However, if the mother became a widow, the keys and their responsibilities and status were often passed to the oldest son's wife.

Younger women and daughters in the house often wanted the appearance of this responsibility, and would often wear decorative chatelaines with a variety of small objects in the place of keys, especially bright and glittering objects that could be used to start a conversation. In the case of the absence of a woman of the house, the controller of the keys was often a hired housekeeper.











ANNUALS.  The American Gift Book,, 1853-1855.


Date:
circa 1854
Image Description:
Image: 1/6 plate; Woman with hair parted in center and smoothed over her head, covering her ears, wearing a floral printed dress with long belled sleeves with arm-hugging caps, white undersleeves, buttoned in the front, with a Jenny Lind collar and a brooch at her throat holds a young child, dressed in a patterned shoulder-baring dress, with bows at each shoulder, color applied to both their cheeks, and the child's dress. Preserver: [none]. Mat: Elliptical with sandy finish (late 1840s). 
Case: Leather-covered wood-frame embossed with a floral design on the front, and a scarce geometric design (Berg No. 5-81) on the back (the engraver's name PAQUET SC appears in the lower left corner and PHILADA in the lower right corner- listed as a die sinker in Philadelphia 1850-55 and as a die sinker with the U.S. Bureau of Engraving & Printing in Philadelphia in 1858), with a red velvet pinchpad and red velvet cushion embossed with a floral design (1850s).
Source:  https://digitallibrary.hsp.org/index.php/Detail/objects/5816

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IV. #6 - CM - 10/2024 (Moosemedicine)

Title: Unknown  portrait
Photographer: unknown
Date: ca. 1848-1850                                                          Case:  #131, A Spray of Roses A (1848-1850), Nolan p. 190; gold gilt edge, gWaves 1849-1853, p. 247 Nolan.
Description:
Provenance: Purchased 10/2024, Carl Mautz, Moosemedicine

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IV. #5 -  10/2024 - CM -Moosemedicine 

Abigail Brown Jones, Photographer: Unknown, ca. ####, Provenance: from the collection of Mr. Brown, Portland, 

The case is well made and the latch is still intact. It has a stop. The fabric in the dress is a sea coral, lichen, seaweed, kelp motif as seen in (1) Beard '40's and (2) German minaturist/ photographer, STELZNER, later purchased by FIELITZ. The Beard was recently posted on Facebook. I like the botanical aspect of the photograph.

"Daguerreotype of Abigail Brown Jones, Grandmother. Her dress is made with a sea coral motif fabric. Sea coral design was found in William Kilburn fabrics. He designed and printed beautiful fabrics and was a botanical artist for William Curtis. The coral (sea plants, i.e. seaweed and kelp) motifs can also be seen in William Morris, Henri Matisse, and Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler designs.

Brooch pin possibly daguerreotype.
Case: Birds on a Ring (1854-1857), Rinehart 085.
Purchased:from Moosemedicine, Carl Mautz Vintage Photography & Publishing, 329 Bridge Way, Nevada City, California, ebay, October 2024. No provenance."

Possible sitter




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I. #2 - 2024 SN

Portrait: Unknown sitter, Photographer: Unknown ca. ####; Note: looking at the time of the New York World's Fair.
The Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations was New York City's 1853-1854 World's Fair, an American attempt to replicate the success of London's 1851 Great Exhibition, featuring a large Crystal Palace-style building in what is now Bryant Park. While it showcased innovations like Elisha Otis's safety elevator and Matthew Brady's photography, the event struggled financially due to poor management, delayed opening, and low attendance compared to its British predecessor, ultimately becoming a financial failure despite P.T. Barnum's later efforts to boost it. 


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I. #1- 2024 SN
COOLEY, 

FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES
Daguerreotype photograph of unknown woman with pen ~ ca. 1840-50s

Finger curl She l
ooks like Emma Stone, if you look closely, her hands and face are differing skin tones. In some instances a photographer would apply a powder to cover freckles. This young lady possibly had red or an auburn shade to her hair.

The only other things I know are that I bought it from someone in Lewiston CA and that the hallmark is Rinhart #29 (lamb JP, 1847-1854). The case and mat suggest 1849-1852. It had original seals but I resealed it with P90 under the original glass. I did not do anything to the plate other than blow off dust. Enclosed for your files is my scan of the naked plate.

This image is a portrait of a woman, likely from the 1850s, which aligns with the query "1850." This type of photograph is often an ambrotype or daguerreotype, popular photographic processes during that era. 
  • Dating the Photograph: The query "1850" directly relates to the approximate date of the photograph, which is consistent with the fashion and photographic techniques prevalent in the mid-19th century. 
  • Fashion of the Era: The subject's attire, particularly the fitted bodice with a shorter waist point and the style of the sleeves and collar, reflects typical women's fashion of the 1850s. 
  • Victorian Era Fabrics
  • The Victorian era (roughly 1837-1901) saw a variety of fabrics used in fashion, with choices often influenced by purpose, social status, and trends, including specific requirements for mourning attire. 
  • Answer:
  • Common fabrics during the Victorian era included:
  • Wool: Various types of wool were widely used, such as serge (heavy), bombazine (often wool and silk blend), alpaca fiber, delaine (fine combing wool), and merino (thinner/softer). Wool was favored for its warmth and durability, especially for daytime wear and winter clothing. 
  • Silk: Silk was a luxurious fabric, used for items like crape (crepe) for mourning attire, and also for more elaborate garments like evening wear, often in shot silk varieties. 
  • Cotton: Cotton was versatile and used for various purposes, including underskirts, linings, and prints. Bombazine could also be made with cotton. 
  • Other materials: Less common but still present were materials like velveteen, sateen, and taffeta, particularly for specific garment types or decorative elements. Photographic Medium: The appearance of the image suggests it is an early photographic process like an ambrotype or daguerreotype, which were common around 1850. For example, one search result identifies a similar image as an "1850's ambrotype of Sally Anglin.
The dress in the image is a Victorian dress, characterized by several features common to the mid-to-late 19th century. 
Characteristics of the Victorian Dress in the Image:
High Neckline and Collar: The dress features a high neckline with a white collar, typical of daytime wear during the Victorian era, often accompanied by lace or tatted details. 
Structured Bodice: The fitted bodice with vertical stripes and what appears to be cording or trim suggests the structured silhouettes popular in Victorian fashion, often achieved with corsetry underneath. 
Wide Sleeves with Undersleeves: The wide sleeves, possibly "pagoda sleeves," worn over white undersleeves (engageantes) are a distinctive element of 1860s Victorian fashion. 


Accessories: The presence of a brooch at the collar and rings on the fingers are common accessories that completed Victorian ensembles. 

I just purchased this daguerreotype  of a freckled girl with finger curls. I think the technique of powdering to cover freckles was used. The dress is tailored with care to suggest a proficient seamstress with an ability to line the stripes up in a proper proportion.
Based on the case, dating is 1848-1853. The young lady in your quarter plate shares a few features with this young lady. I thought you would enjoy seeing this sixth plate daguerreotype for a comparison of the styles.

Marla Todd finger curl https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16wiXaoC7j/


FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES

"Typically these rounded velvet cases are French, but the mat is more common in German & Scandinavian countries."

~ Sean Nolan 9/20/2025

Purchased from N. Vaccaro 2025
 









TINTYPE
Unknown girl. The center part in her hair is most likely a girl. She might be dressed in a zouave-like influenced jacket. 
Tintype

Photographer:  Unknown
Date:  ca. 1850
Purchased: January 6, 2025, Fort Worth, Texas.


FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES
PURCHASED ETSY/EBAY? January 2026  Twodaguerreotypes 
Unknown Woman with bonnet, white collar, and fashionable black ribbon cuffs sometimes representing mourning.
Photographer: Unknown
Case:  1/6 Plate, Romanesque Urn B, #141-B, 1854-1856, Nolan p.251.
Date:  ca. 1850's
Silver Hallmark:  W. H. H. (William Hair.        , Birmingham, but too early).
William Hair Haseler (1821-1912)  a prominent English silversmith of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
William Hair Haseler was born to John and Sarah Evett (Hair) Haseler in 1821/1822 in Birmingham, England. He married Elizabeth Rabone in 1851 and together they had six children. In 1870, Haseler founded the company, W. H. Haseler & Co., specializing in gold and silver work, and jewelry. 

Five years later, Arthur Lasenby Liberty (1843-1917) started a small shop on the corner of Regent Street in London. Specializing in exotic goods from Japan and the Far East, his business thrived and he became a leading merchant to the upper classes, including famous members of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. The store soon became the most fashionable place to shop in London, featuring luxurious wares including fabrics, clothing, furniture, clocks, jewelry, wallpapers and decorative objects of all kinds. His efforts to promote the Art Nouveau style, with its depiction of leaves and flowers in flowing ornamental lines, were so influential that the term “Stile Liberty” became the accepted term for the style in Italy. 
During the 1890s, Liberty formed relationships with many leading English designers. In 1898, Liberty and Haseler created a formal partnership to launch the Cymric silver line under the title “Liberty and Co. (Cymric) Ltd.” using free lance designers. One of those designers, Archibald Knox (1864-1933), began designing for Liberty in 1899. He focused on the new Celtic design work for the Cymric range and its pewter counterpart, known as Tudric. Haseler was responsible for making many of Knox’s designs. Knox was a highly gifted designer and is largely credited with the success of Cymric silverware. He continued to design for Liberty until 1912. Source:  https://glessnerhouse.blogspot.com/2014/05/william-hair-haseler-silversmith.html?m=1








Unknown woman in a striped fabric dress and bonnet with organza tie hair covering, pencil curl hairstyle.
Photographer: Unknown
Date: ca. 1850's. 1856
Case: Quarter plate, exterior embossed with #383: Johanna's Bouquet, 1853-1856, Nolan p.183.
Gold Gilded border, gTwist1 1852-1870, Nolan p.309.
Quarter plate mat, Candelabra collar ~ 1856, Nolan p. 101. double-elliptic [many daguerreotypes by AUGUSTUS WASHINGTON used this but he had moved to Liberia by this date SEE LOC, Harvey R. Marks]
velvet pad, "arsenic laden green" with embossed motif.

The two daguerreotypes came from Stewart Manor, NY. For a statistician, there is a low likelyhood the daguerreotypes stayed close to home and in the area the three daguerreotypists that I have found in Hempstead, NY. are:   Prior, Christopher W., Wood, I.S., Woodbridge, Joseph S.

Prior, Christopher W.
Active as a daguerreian at 345 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, N.Y., 1854-1855. Possibly the same as Charles W. Prior, also listed in 1854-1855 as a daguerreian in Brooklyn , without a business address, and living in Hempstead, Long Island.Based on historical records of daguerreian artists in Brooklyn, N.Y., the address 345 Fulton Street was a known location for portrait studios in the mid-1850s, specifically associated with photographers such as N. Lott (active 1855) and Miles L. Riggs (listed 1856-1857). 
Key Details Regarding 345 Fulton Street, Brooklyn (1854-1855):
Active Photographers: N. Lott is documented as a daguerreotypist at 345 Fulton Street in 1855. Miles L. Riggs was listed there slightly later, in 1856-1857, with a residence at 139 Joralemon.
Location: The studio was located opposite Montague Hall.

Wood, I.S.
Noted as a daguerreian in 1844, location unknown. He was listed as a photographer in Hempstead, L.I., N.Y., in 1873.
I. S. Wood refers to Isabella S. Wood, a mid-19th-century figure associated with rare daguerreotype portraits. 
Subject of Portraits: Isabella S. Wood is primarily known as the subject of early American daguerreotypes, rather than the photographer. For example, a notable half-plate daguerreotype of Isabella S. Wood and her daughter (circa 1850) has been featured in major collections and auctions.
Family Connection: Many daguerreotypes from this era involving the name Wood are linked to the prominent Wood family of Philadelphia (including Richard D. Wood and Julianna Randolph Wood). These images often depict family members holding portraits of one another, a common sentimental practice of the 1840s and

Woodbridge, Joseph S.
Listed as a daguerreian in Hempstead, N.Y., 1859.
Mr. Woodbridge, of this city, has constructed an instrument for taking full length portraits on plates 10 by 13 inches, which is worthy of some notice. It is a double camera, consisting of two boxes, placed in a frame, one above the other, and so arranged as to slide easily up and down. After the focus has been adjusted, on the object, in both cameras, the plate is put into the upper box, in the manner already described, until the superior portion of the figure is complete; it is then placed in the second box and the lower extremities obtained. The adjustment of the instrument is so complete that a perfect union of the parts is effected in the picture without the least possible line of demarkation being visible. Fig. 8 gives a front view of this instrument.
Joseph S. Woodbridge is documented as working as a daguerreian in Hempstead, N.Y., in 1859, indicating active portrait or view-taking services in the area during the late, final phase of the medium's popularity. While rare, such local, 19th-century, silver-plated images represent important, fragile historical records of the region's, mid-1800s, inhabitants, and landscape. 
Location/Context: Hempstead, Long Island, New York.



Even though this is not the subject spoken of below, I am including the fabric swatch and story because it fits in the same time period.


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