Daguerreotype portrait of a man holding a rolled paper – Historic Photograph Print
(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 Daguerreotype portrait of a man holding a rolled paper. Drawn from the Snapshots of the Past archive, it is an authentic piece of documented history.
The framed print arrives ready to hang; the unframed option suits custom framing. 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, founded in 2001, has served tens of thousands of customers worldwide.
Daguerreotype portrait of a man holding a rolled paper
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A man, his hand resting on a rolled sheet of paper, sits for one of the earliest portraits made in the decade after photography was announced to the public. Daguerreotypes like this one were made on silvered copper plates that had to be sealed under glass, so each picture is a single, unrepeatable image that reflects light differently depending on the angle you view it from. Exposures in 1840 often ran for minutes, which is why sitters were posed with their heads braced and their expressions held still. The rolled paper is a common prop of the period, suggesting a letter, a document or a profession, and it is worth noticing how the sitter's stillness and the tones of the silver give the portrait its quiet, formal presence.
| Created / published | 1840 |
|---|---|
| Original scan | 3,282 × 4,096 px · prints to 11 × 14 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | 456_Unidentified_man_headan_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.
![[Beverly Page Yates, half-length portrait, facing slightly right, seated at table, holding rolled piece of paper]](https://images.jameslantos.com/img/b4/b47ba82739d0-400.webp)
