Snapshots of the Past

Daguerreotype of a seated woman holding a book – Antique Photo Print

Daguerreotype of a seated woman holding a book, 1851 — historic photograph
Daguerreotype of a seated woman holding a book, 1851. 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

Step back in time with Daguerreotype of a seated woman holding a book, a historic photograph rich in period detail. It comes from the Snapshots of the Past collection, curated over 25 years for its historical value.

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. Snapshots of the Past has been bringing history to the wall since 2001, for tens of thousands of customers worldwide.

Daguerreotype of a seated woman holding a book

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Few details survive about the sitter in this 1851 daguerreotype, which shows a woman seated with a book held in her lap. What sets it apart from many portraits of the period is the prop itself: a book was a deliberate choice, signaling learning, leisure, or respectability to the viewer. Daguerreotypes like this one were made on silvered copper plates, so the image is a single unique positive that reflects light differently depending on the angle, and it must be kept behind glass to prevent tarnish. By 1851, the process had been public for barely a decade, and studio portraits were becoming an affordable way for middle-class sitters to record their appearance.

Created / published1851
Original scan3,261 × 4,096 px · prints to 11 × 14 in at 300 dpi
Reference690_Unidentified_woman_half_1851

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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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