Beautiful quarter plate antique daguerreotype circa 1850s. Original Leather and Velvet Case with beautiful brass mat

A beautiful quarter plate antique daguerreotype circa 1850s, a lovely example of the world’s first commercial photographic process. Daguerrotypes were invented in France in the early 1830s, and used a highly polished silver surface on a copper plate.

They were sold in Britain throughout the 1840s into the early 1850s, as well as across the Atlantic. Access to studios of photographers working with this process was limited to the middle and upper classes, and it was a painstaking, time-consuming process.

Daguerrotypes are highly fragile due to the process of using mercury to form these images, and as seen here are nearly always cased in wood or leather, lined with silk or velvet, and protected under glass.

This particular example is not only cased in leather and lined with a sumptuous velvet, but also painstakingly hand-coloured, a process that would have required additional time and expense. A lovely ornate brass mat, which in the field of daguerreotypes is usually referred to as American-style. The lady here is charmingly dressed  with blushing cheeks and lovely blue embellishments to her attire. We are unsure if she is a Northern Lady, Southern Belle or English Rose, but certainly she was a very charming lady and this daguerreotype has preserved her style and grace even over 150 years later.

Price marked at $550 AUD.

Measurements: Quarter plate image (incl brass mat) size of 8 by 11cm. Total size incl case approx 9 by 12cm.

Daguerreotype in excellent antique condition, overall very good antique condition with some wear to corners and edges of case.