Snapshots of the Past

Half-length portrait of a man in an oval mat – Vintage Wall Art

Half-length portrait of a man in an oval mat, 1844 — historic photograph
Half-length portrait of a man in an oval mat, 1844. Historic photograph from the Daguerreotypes & Early Photography collection.

(Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

Few images capture their era like this historic photograph of Half-length portrait of a man in an oval mat. It is part of the Snapshots of the Past archive, gathered over 25 years of research.

Choose the framed print, ready to hang the day it arrives, or the unframed print for a frame of your own. It makes a striking addition to a living room, study or office, and a thoughtful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Since 2001, Snapshots of the Past has shipped historic prints to tens of thousands of customers around the world.

Half-length portrait of a man in an oval mat

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Set within an oval mat, this 1844 half-length portrait shows a man framed from the waist up, a composition typical of the daguerreotype studios that were then opening in American and European cities. Daguerreotypes were made on silver-coated copper plates, each one a unique image that could not be duplicated, and the oval mat was a common decorative choice that drew the eye toward the sitter's face. Because the process required sitters to hold still for a long exposure, portraits from this period often show a formal, serious expression. The picture gives a useful glimpse of how early photography borrowed its conventions from painted portraiture while introducing a new kind of likeness.

Created / published1844
Original scan3,279 × 4,096 px · prints to 11 × 14 in at 300 dpi
Reference432_Unidentified_man_halfle_1844

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Snapshots of the Past helps heritage brands, museums, historians and storytellers tell stories with history: historic prints, image licensing and historical storytelling drawn from more than 25 years of research and curation.

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