I purchased this Sixth Plate Daguerreotype around 2010. It is in excellent condition. The subject wears a finely tailored coat with a partial velvet lapel, starched white shirt with raised collar and a cravat with a jeweled bolo style pendant. His facial hair is restricted to the lower chin. Circa 1850.
The daguerrotype came in a leatherette fully functional hinged case with an ornate oval mat.
I purchased this Sixth Plate Tintype in 2018. The young girl in the middle seems so tickled to have her picture taken—the other two, not so much.
The image has deteriorated a fair amount and I have done what I could to restore it. The tintype came housed in a beautiful Mother of Pearl Inlaid Case with a decorative mat and glass.
I acquired this daguerreotype years ago rather inexpensively as I recall. It looked to be a quality image and was captivated by the pose of the subject whom I imagined to be gambler, a 49er perhaps—certainly a ladies man.
When I removed the image from its case, I discovered that it had the same hallmark os another image in my collection (see The Parisian Beauty). This mark was attributed to Marc Antoine Gaudin (1804-1888) who took photographs with his brother Alexis Pierre Gaudin (1816-1894) a 9 ru de la Perle in Paris, France. The hallmark is described as a “GAUDIN DOUBLE, rosette, lamb (Agnus Dei) between 2 crescent moons, silver content 40.”
This daguerreotype was probably taken about 1850 based on the clothing worn by the subject. He wears a knotted tie that has been tinted pink. Upon scanning, I was a little disappointed that the subject’s eyes were not quite in focus. His hair seems to be in sharper focus. The silver plate is in excellent condition.
Marc Antoine Gaudin was considered a pioneer in photography—a French chemist who contributed to the Avogradro’s Gas Law by proposing that some elements form diatomic or polyatomic gas. In 1853, he was credited with the “Gaudinotype.”
This Sixth Plate Ambrotype was listed on e-Bay for many months before I purchased it. I must have looked at it thirty times before I pulled the trigger. I imagine them to be a young couple, just engaged or just married. They are both smartly attired. He seems just a little more sure of his bargain than she does which tickles me every time I look at it.
The image came in a half case with a simple oval mat. The mat is engraved with the photographer’s name, “Holmes, N. Y.”
