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SUPER COLOR TINTED DAGUERREOTYPE OF CHILDREN
Exceptional sixth-plate daguerreotype (2 ¾ x 3 ¼”) of two children, probably brother and sister. He holds her hand and a big (fur?) hat on his lap. She wears a dress which has been DEEPLY TINTED PINK and a coral(?) necklace which is also delicately tinted. The image is housed in a geometric thermoplastic (gutta-percha) case that is in quite good condition.
The daguerreotype is unsealed and has an ornate oval mat c1858. This mat (and perhaps the entire case) are apparently not original to the image because when the oval mat is removed the outline of an earlier octagonal-mat is apparent in the edges of the tarnish lines. This image was recently acquired at a tag sale with a few other daguerreotypes of unidentified sitters taken by New York City daguerreian artists including Jeremiah Gurney and the Meade Brothers. I believe that a long time ago, someone in the family “upgraded” this image to the oval mat and thermoplastic case. It was probably taken earlier in the Daguerreian Era—perhaps c1848. The two children sit in interesting matching primitive-looking chairs.
I’ve made most of the scans below without the mat to show that the daguerreotype is still quite well preserved from fitting tightly in the thermoplastic case for many years and has suffered little tarnish or other damage from lack of original seals. There are some light scratches on the surface of the image however. These scratches definitely don’t detract from the viewing power of this image and are all-but invisible except when the image is turned a certain way in the light. In the enlarged detail scan below, you can see that there are a few vertical marks just to the viewer’s left of the little girl’s eye and one slightly more-noticeable scratch between the little boy’s eye and nose. Finally, there are some very light abrasion lines in the lower half of the image, but again they are only visible when the image is twisted around in direct light and I can’t even get them to show in any of the scans. Otherwise the image is in quite nice condition.
The portrait is a fine one--nicely composed and with good depth, but its finest aspect is the VIVID PINK TINTING ON THE LITTLE GIRL’S NECKLACE & DRESS. The fourth image down in the scan below is tilted back in the light somewhat to show something of the lushness of the tinting. There is also attractive tinting on the children’s face, cheeks & lips.
It has always been difficult to find daguerreotypes for-sale with the visual “POP” of this image—as most quickly end-up as a “KEEPER” in someone’s collection.
Price= $350.00
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