Snapshots of the Past

[Charles Edwin West, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front] – Vintage Wall Art

[Charles Edwin West, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front], [between 1844 and 1851] — historic photograph
[Charles Edwin West, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front], [between 1844 and 1851]. Historic photograph from the Daguerreotypes & Early Photography 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

Few images capture their era like this historic photograph of [Charles Edwin West, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front]. It comes from the collections of the Library of Congress, scanned from the original and carefully restored.

The framed print arrives ready to hang; the unframed option suits custom framing. A conversation-starting piece for home, office, or as a meaningful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past, founded in 2001, has served tens of thousands of customers worldwide.

[Charles Edwin West, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front]

Order a print

Secure checkout · SSL encryptedPowered by Stripe and PayPal

Free shipping in the lower 48 states. The checkout page shows the picture, size and price before you pay.

Sign up for our newsletter

Sent securely. No purchase needed. Unsubscribe anytime.

Ask about licensing or this print

A name scratched into the face of the plate, plus a note on the back linking it to the Rutgers Institute in New York, identifies the man in this portrait as Charles Edwin West (1809-1900). The head-and-shoulders view shows him facing the camera in a half-plate daguerreotype produced in Mathew Brady's studio, probably between 1844 and 1851. Daguerreotypes are unique images fixed directly on silver-surfaced copper, so the picture appears only when the plate is tilted against the light. The plate later passed through the U.S. War College before entering the Library of Congress collection in 1920.

Created / published[between 1844 and 1851]
Medium1 photograph : half plate daguerreotype.
GenrePortrait photographs 1840-1860.Daguerreotypes 1840-1860.
NotesScratched on face of plate: 4; West. Scratched on back of plate: 168; West, Rutgers Ins. NY. Transfer; U.S. War College; 1920. (DLC/PP-1920:46153). Forms part of: Daguerreotype collection (Library of Congress). Produced by Mathew Brady's studio.
SubjectsWest, Charles Edwin,--1809-1900.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan3,302 × 4,096 px · prints to 11 × 14 in at 300 dpi
Reference159_Charles_Edwin_West_head_1844

More from the Daguerreotypes & Early Photography collection

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.

Related pictures

[Charles Bradhurst, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front][Charles Bradhurst, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front][Copy of a painting of an unidentified woman, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front][Copy of a painting of an unidentified woman, head-and-shoulders portrait, facin[Daniel Dickinson, head-and-shoulders portrait, slightly to the left, facing front][Daniel Dickinson, head-and-shoulders portrait, slightly to the left, facing fro[Alexander William Doniphan, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front][Alexander William Doniphan, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front][Albert Gallatin, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front, with walking stick][Albert Gallatin, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front, with walking stick][Framed painting of unidentified man, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front][Framed painting of unidentified man, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front]