Rare Finest Museum Quality CIVIL War Daguerreotype

  
RARE FINEST MUSEUM QUALITY CIVIL WAR. This is a Museum Quality. VERY rare and simply fantastic, 1860s Civil War Sixth Plate Cased. Photograph is housed in a beautiful, Gutta Percha / Thermoplastic, Union Hard Case with original matt and binding and cover glass. The Union Case is very beautiful, it looks new and very well preserved.

It is a rich and dark, chocolate brown color and is covered with identical front and rear halves with patriotic symbols. In the center is a document with the words Constitution and the Law guarded above by an eagle. In each corner are shields with the stars and stripes divided by small tabs with N, S, E, W inscribed on them. The Case is in excellent condition.

The molded images on both sides are crisp and sharp with not even a hint damage or wear to even the highest points of the design. The surface is bright and retains its original brilliant surface shine. The corners are sharp and there are no edge chips, significant wear, cracks, repairs or damage of any kind.

The boy/soldier has both his hands across his chest probably to show off the 3 rings wedding rings? His facial expression is quite mysterious; sad, fearful, proud, longing, who knows? But one of the most compelling portraits of a young soldier Ive seen. His face is incredibly detailed.

His cheeks are delicately tinted red and the buttons of his jacket gold gilt. Daguerreotype although it doesnt have that mirrored quality.

At first I thought it was a tintype, but it seems too detailed plus it has no surface irregularities like a tintype. The back of the plate is totally flat & looks almost like brass, but it is coated making it difficult to tell & I did not want to risk taking it apart.

The inside of the case states Littlefield, Parsons & co. A very rare and wonderful, museum quality 1860s Civil War Sixth Plate Cased. Photograph of an amazing young Soldier with beautiful tinted color will be a fantastic addition to any collection!! I will be listing many high quality and interesting Daguerreotype, ambrotypes and tintype during the next few weeks, so please check frequently.

THIS WAS JUST RECEIVED FROM A KIND EBAYER. I don't think it's a daguerreotype. One way to find out is to remove the plate from the case & look at the back of the plate. If the plate is copper colored, it's a daguerreotype.

Certain things tell me it's an ambrotype. For one thing, it's rare to see a daguerreotype of a Civil war soldier; ambrotypes were invented in about 1855(photo on a glass plate) and they largely replaced daguerreotypes, probably because I believe they were cheaper to make.

Please note there are two types of ambrotypes; one was a photo on clear glass; the other was on red glasscalled a ruby ambrotype or called amethyst color. Require either a dark emulsion on the back of the glass plate or a dark cloth, otherwise the image looks sunk in. Ruby ambros are more desirable, since they are on red glass and therefore don't require a dark cloth or plate behind the glassand chemical emulsions don't last forever, since they deteriorate(shown by cracking & peeling). The item "RARE FINEST MUSEUM QUALITY CIVIL WAR DAGUERREOTYPE" is in sale since Thursday, July 07, 2016. This item is in the category "Collectibles\Photographic Images\Vintage & Antique (Pre-1940)\Daguerreotypes".

The seller is "king4" and is located in Huntington Beach, California. This item can be shipped worldwide.

: Unsigned

Original/Reprint: Original Print

Date of Creation: 1860-1869

Subject: Military & Political

Region of Origin: US

Framing: Matted & Framed

Color: Color

Photo Type: Daguerreotype

Size Type/Largest Dimension: 1/6 PLATE

Country/Region of Manufacture: United States