Family Portraits, circa 1850

01

Artifact Overview

The daguerreotype, popular in the early 1840s-late 1850s, was the first form of photography available to the public. Sheets of silver-plated copper--polished to a mirror finish--were bathed in photosensitive vapors, and exposed in cameras. In formal studios and traveling booths, photographers created affordable portraits. For the first time, people saw their likenesses--fixed permanently in time and place.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Daguerreotype (Photograph)

Date Made

circa 1850

Subject Date

circa 1850

Location

Not on exhibit to the public.

Object ID

91.0.191.48

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford.

Material

Copper (Metal)
Silver (Metal)
Glass (Material)
Brass (Alloy)
Leather
Wood (Plant material)

Technique

Daguerreotype (Process)
Plating (Metal coating)
Hand coloring
Half plate

Color

Black-and-white (Colors)
Gold (Color)

Dimensions

Height: 6 in
Width: 4.875 in
Length: 0.75 in

Inscriptions

In metal mat in lower right corner on right side image of woman: PLUMBE Handwritten in upper left right corner: 184?