Daguerreotype occupational portrait of a peddler with two boxes – Vintage Wall Art
(Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)
Description
This rare historic photograph captures Daguerreotype occupational portrait of a peddler with two boxes in remarkable detail. It is part of the Snapshots of the Past archive, gathered over 25 years of research.
The framed print arrives ready to hang; the unframed option suits custom framing. It brings character to any room and makes a memorable gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past, founded in 2001, has served tens of thousands of customers worldwide.
Daguerreotype occupational portrait of a peddler with two boxes
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A peddler posed with two boxes is the particular subject here, and the pairing of a working man with his stock is what sets this plate apart from the studio portraits of gentlemen and families that dominate early daguerreotype work. In 1840 the process was barely a year old in America, and exposures could run several minutes, so a sitter had to hold still while the copper plate slowly registered the scene. Traveling peddlers carried goods from farm to farm and town to town, and images like this one record a trade that existed largely outside the settled shop economy. Look closely at the boxes and the posture of the sitter, which tell you as much about the working life of the period as the face does.
| Created / published | 1840 |
|---|---|
| Original scan | 3,288 × 4,096 px · prints to 11 × 14 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | 280_Occupational_portrait_o_1840 |
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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.
