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[Alexander De Witt, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front] – Historic Photo Reproduction

[Alexander De Witt, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front], [between 1850 and 1860] — historic photograph
[Alexander De Witt, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front], [between 1850 and 1860]. 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

This historic photograph of [Alexander De Witt, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front] brings a moment of history to your wall. It comes from the collections of the Library of Congress, scanned from the original and carefully restored.

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[Alexander De Witt, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front]

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Little is recorded about the sitter beyond the label that accompanies this sixth-plate daguerreotype, which identifies him as Colonel Alexander De Witt of Oxford. He lived from 1798 to 1879, and the portrait dates from between 1850 and 1860, when daguerreotypes were the leading portrait medium. Color was added by hand over the silver surface, a common practice of the period that tinted cheeks, lips, and clothing. The lock of hair kept with the case gives the object a personal, memorial quality, and the piece is also part of the Clara Barton Papers at the Library of Congress.

Created / published[between 1850 and 1860]
Medium1 photograph : sixth plate daguerreotype, hand-colored.
GenrePortrait photographs 1850-1860.Daguerreotypes 1850-1860.
NotesPhotographer unidentified. Hallmark: Rinhart 2. Case: Rinhart 229. Accompanying lock of hair. Accompanying label: Colonel Alexander De Witt of Oxford. Transfer; Manuscript Division; 1959. Forms part of: Clara Barton Papers, 1834-1918 (Library of Congress). Forms part of: Daguerreotype collection (Library of Congress).
SubjectsDe Witt, Alexander,--1798-1879.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan3,280 × 4,096 px · prints to 11 × 14 in at 300 dpi
Reference562_Alexander_De_Witt_heada_1850

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