Daguerreotype of a Mother with a daughter and son
Washington DC: Edwin C. Thompson, c1853. Photograph in ornamental case. Frame is approximately 3.75 inches by 4.5 inches. Picture is in a hinged wood frame with the front cover of the ornamental case separated but present. The image of the woman, girl and boy is in an inserted rectangle that is approximately 2.5 inches at greatest width and 3.5 inches at maximum length. The woman has her arm around the girl and the boy has his arm in front of his waist. The image is in an ornamental case case. Inside the front case cover is decorated fabric text that reads Thompson's Gallery Washington D.C. Edwin C. Thompson was first listed as a daguerreian from 1848 to 1851 in New York City, N.Y. In 1848-1849 he was listed at 58 Chatham Street; and from 1849 to 1851 at 214 Broadway, and lived at 37 Ludlow Street. In May, 1852 he established a gallery in Washington, D.C., on the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue between 4-1/2 and 6 Streets North. The studio was noted in Lane and Tucker's Building. He noted he had acquired the paper process for Washington and planned to photograph famous people. In 1853 he was listed in partnership with Stevens; the pair occupied N.S. Bennett's rooms in Saratoga Springs that year (summer) after a boat explosion prevented Bennett from going. In 1856 Thompson was listed in Buffalo, N.Y., over 223 Main Street. His residence there was listed at 148 West Huron Street. Source is John S. Craig from Internet posting. Daguerreotype was the first publicly available photographic process; it was widely used during the 1840s and 1850s. "Daguerreotype" also refers to an image created through this process. Invented by Louis Daguerre and introduced worldwide in 1839, the daguerreotype was almost completely superseded by 1860 with new, less expensive processes, such as ambrotype, that yield more readily viewable images. To make the image, a daguerreotypist polished a sheet of silver-plated copper to a mirror finish; treated it with fumes that made its surface light sensitive; exposed it in a camera for as long as was judged to be necessary, which could be as little as a few seconds for brightly sunlit subjects or much longer with less intense lighting; made the resulting latent image on it visible by fuming it with mercury vapor; removed its sensitivity to light by liquid chemical treatment; rinsed and dried it; and then sealed the easily marred result behind glass in a protective enclosure. The image is on a mirror-like silver surface and will appear either positive or negative, depending on the angle at which it is viewed, how it is lit and whether a light or dark background is being reflected in the metal. The darkest areas of the image are simply bare silver; lighter areas have a microscopically fine light-scattering texture. The surface is very delicate, and even the lightest wiping can permanently scuff it. Some tarnish around the edges is normal. Several types of antique photographs, most often ambrotypes and tintypes, but sometimes even old prints on paper, are commonly misidentified as daguerreotypes, especially if they are in the small, ornamented cases in which daguerreotypes made in the US and the UK were usually housed. The name "daguerreotype" correctly refers only to one very specific image type and medium, the product of a process that was in wide use only from the early 1840s to the late 1850s. Condition: Fair.
Keywords: Daguerreotype, Photograph, Edwin C. Thompson, E. C. Thompson, Collectible, Memento, Family Group, Mother and children
[Book #83193]
Price: $125.00