I recently found a
new another daguerreotype for my collection. I haven't added an image to the collection for a long time because so much of what I've seen has come with an inflated price.
What I look for is a pleasing or interesting sitter, a case in good condition, and an image that hasn't oxidized too much. Plus, of course, a price that is fair. When I started collecting daguerreotypes, I could buy an image like the one above for as little as $7 — imagine! Today, a range $80-$120 is quite fair for an image that has been kept in as good condition. I'll spend more for gutta perchas, which you can read about
here, or at my sidebar image of the camera.
The simplicity of the oval frame indicates that this daguerreotype predates the Civil War, and the attire suggests that this might date from the late 1840s to the mid 1850s. The young man appears at first glance to have a fob of some sort attached to his vest lapel, but in fact it's just an isolated spot of oxidation.
You can see in this close-up that there is very subtle tinting on the young man's face, and what an elaborate hairdo he concocted! Perhaps in later life he sported a comb-over (for which he would have had a lot of practice!).
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Hi Mark, Congratulations on acquiring this near-pristine image. It is frustrating when what we collect soars out of our price range, but perhaps difficulties of acquisition make us examine and appreciate what we get all the more.
ReplyDeleteI like the Moorish design of the outer case, a good example of this revival that was sweeping the country at that time.
--Jim
Hi, Jim,
DeleteMost of my collections have been relatively inexpensive, in part because I started collecting (seemingly in all directions) when I was very young. As those collections have risen in their prices, I've become a little more discerning, and I've also appreciated that I was ahead of a curve.
I've often wondered if and how my collecting would change — should I fall into a vat of money — and I don't doubt that I'd still be attracted to antique photography, just rarer finds.
Dear Mark,
ReplyDeleteIt's funny that you should write a post on daguerreotypes because I yesterday I saw one for sale here in Germany and immediately thought of you!
I do like the frames on those photos. Are they pressed gilded tin?
Bye for now,
Kirk
Dear Kirk,
DeleteI believe the frames of the early daguerreotypes were a heavy brass that went through a gold rinse. (I know this because I've played around with lesser, spare frames and removed the gilt.) The more elaborate frame that you see at the edge of the image served to unite the frame, glass and daguerreotype image; it wraps around all three layers. It was a super-thin brass that was pressed. On later daguerreotypes, the larger frame also became a thin, pressed brass.
the hair reminds me of the new movie 'american hustle' which is so amazing -have you seen it yet?
ReplyDeleteHi, Stefan,
DeleteI saw "American Hustle" recently and had a good laugh at Christian Bale's hair routine. I salute all balding men who embrace their baldness and simply shave their head.
Dear Mark,One day I would like to see a Daguerreotype. Never have had the opportunity. No doubt they should be seen in person to appreciate the work that went into creating them.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that generally men used to have more hair? Maybe he did not have to suffer the indignity of a comb - over..
Dear Gina,
DeleteIf you were to see a daguerreotype, I'm sure you'd remember it. Imagine a photographic portrait developed onto a mirror, and that's pretty much what a daguerreotype looks like. The image was actually developed onto a silver-plated copper. I find that there's a quality about daguerreotypes that's rather haunting, in part because of the magically reflective image, and in part knowing that daguerreotype images were one of a kind; there was no negative, or more correctly, the negative and positive were the same image.
Congrats on your latest find! Even with that spot of oxidization, it is still in remarkable condition. Very handsome!!
ReplyDeleteHi, Loi,
DeleteI always imagine when I see a well-preserved daguerreotype, that it was handled more lovingly. Unfortunately, so many that I see are damaged little orphans!
Dear Mark - you mentioned that the daguerreotype is like a photographic portrait developed onto a mirror. Does that mean that the image is in reverse, and you are not seeing the true face, but the one the sitter saw himself when looking into a mirror?
ReplyDeleteDear Rosemary,
DeleteYou are exactly right. The sitter's image was developed onto a silvery plate and became both the negative and the positive. (When you look at a daguerreotype, you're looking at the very same piece of metal the sitter was looking at.) Depending on how one holds and shfts a daguerreotype, one can see the image as negative or positive, though the positive image prevails. Because daguerreotypes were one-of-a-kind, cameras were soon developed with multiple lenses, so that people could have copies.
I'm always attracted to little gems but I have to cave to collecting. This looks like a charismatic young man and, yes, it was the hair that first grabbed my attention.
ReplyDeleteDear Steve,
DeleteI discovered long ago that collecting (at least for me) was a sort of nesting, and my acquisitivenesss diminished a lot as soon as I owned a house! You in fact are a wonderful collector, of materials for your urban cottage.
I see them at auction quite often, but I never really look at them or their prices, but I will pay more attention next time. There is something rather haunting about them, in that it allows one to imagine what his eyes saw. Maybe that's the main attraction?
ReplyDeleteDear Columnist,
DeleteI'm sure the daguerreotypes you see at auction are quite fine, and by that I mean that they would not just be in pristine condition, but that they would be of more desireable subject matter. That would include outdoor scenes, entire families and especially people posed with the props of their professions. I'd love to get my hands on any of those, but I work with smaller outlays.
I agree with you that one big attraction for collecting daguerreotypes is wondering what the sitter's life might have been like. I always project personality onto the images I collect and think about what might have been. This young man would have been in his twenties during the Civil War, and had he survived, might have lived to see a world of automobiles.
Dear Mark,
ReplyDeleteI've just spent the last long while lost in your blog, binge-reading dozens of wonderful posts-- wonderful! What an fun and rewarding visit--- I suppose this is my version of the trend for binge-watching television shows, only better. I loved seeing your new Daguerrotype-- it's so poignant to look into that young face and think about all the time that has gone by. An excellent reminder to seize the day!
Thank you for the inspiration-- with my dose of 'Vitamin ATR' I'm now energized for the week's work!
Warm regards,
Erika
Dear Erika,
DeleteThank you for the nicest of compliments! Collecting daguerreotypes has added an extra dimension to my life, one that's an interesting mix of appreciation for a beautiful artform and a wondering of anonymous lives.
He has very sad eyes ..and are those freckles I see ?
ReplyDeleteHi, smr,
DeleteHis eyes do look a little sad, but daguerreotypes can be deceiving; don't forget that he would have needed to hold a pose (and an expression) for several minutes.
I have re-examined the daguerreotype, and it does indeed look as though the sitter has a freckled nose.
His face is absolutely captivating. I can't help but imagine who he was and what sort of life he lived. These forgotten faces are wonderfully haunting.
ReplyDeleteHi, Barbara,
DeleteWondering about the lives of those who have been forever captured in daguerreotypes is a big part in the enjoyment of the collection. Thanks for looking, and I hope you got a chance to look at the daguerreotypes that are featured in my sidebar!