Snapshots of the Past

[John Silva Meehan, head-and-shoulders portrait] – Vintage Wall Art

[John Silva Meehan, head-and-shoulders portrait], [between 1850 and 1860] — historic photograph
[John Silva Meehan, head-and-shoulders portrait], [between 1850 and 1860]. Historic photograph from the Historic Print Archive collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. 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 [John Silva Meehan, head-and-shoulders portrait] in remarkable detail. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.

Choose the framed print, ready to hang the day it arrives, or the unframed print for a frame of your own. A fine choice for anyone who loves history, and a gift that gets noticed. 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.

[John Silva Meehan, head-and-shoulders portrait]

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This quarter-size stereoscopic daguerreotype is a head-and-shoulders portrait of John Silva Meehan (1790-1863), taken sometime between 1850 and 1860. Its two side-by-side exposures were meant to be viewed through a stereoscope, which fuses them into a single image with apparent depth. The case is inscribed with a patent notice for "Mascher's improved stereoscope" of Philadelphia, tying the object to the instrument makers who sold these viewers during the mid-century boom in stereo photography. The photographer is unidentified, and the image has been hand-colored, with the front of the case decorated with lilies and the back with a geometric design.

Created / published[between 1850 and 1860]
Medium1 photograph : quarter size Mascher stereoscopic daguerreotype, hand-colored.
GenrePortrait photographs 1850-1860.Daguerreotypes 1840-1860.Stereographs 1850-1860.
NotesPhotographer unidentified. Case: front, lillies; back, geometric design. Inscribed on case: patent applied for, Masher's improved stereoscope, Philadelphia. Transfer; Manuscript Division; 1981; (DLC/PP-1981:193). Forms part of: John Silva Meehan Papers, 1828-1904 (Library of Congress). Forms part of: Daguerreotype collection (Library of Congress).
SubjectsMeehan, John Silva,--1790-1863.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan4,096 × 3,291 px · prints to 14 × 11 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-213577

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