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THBHalf Plate Daguerreotype of Franklin Pierce by Root
About Seller
6270 Este Ave.
Cincinnati , OH 45232
United States
With offices in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Denver, Cowan’s holds over 40 auctions each year, with annual sales exceeding $16M. We reach buyers around the globe, and take pride in our reputation for integrity, customer service and great results. A full-service house, Cowan’s Auctions specializes in Am...Read more
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About Auction
LiveJun 26, 2020
Cowan's Auctions is delighted to present the June 26 American Historical Ephemera and Photography Auction, including 55 lots devoted to the African American experience, over 175 lots dating from the Civil War Era, and more than 60 lots documenting life in the American West. Cowan's Auctions dawnie@cowans.com
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- Lot Description
Half Plate Daguerreotype of Franklin Pierce by Root
Half plate daguerreotype seated half-portrait of Franklin Pierce (1804-1869), United States President (1854-1857). Samuel Root (1819-1889): New York, n.d., ca 1852. "S. Root / 363 Broadway, N.Y." imprint to mat. Pierce is positioned facing the photographer and looks just to the side of the camera. He wears a stiff tie over a high standing collar. With original brass frame and mat and with period oval and rectangular frames.
An important and heretofore unseen daguerreotype, previously only known by lithograph. Appears to be view "a," or from the same sitting, in Pfister's Facing the Light: Historic American Portrait Daguerreotypes. Known from a lithograph by Mauritz H. Traubel printed in 1852 during Pierce's presidential candidacy, a lithograph by A. Newsam for piano music, and variant engravings by John C. Buttre, one of which is used as the frontispiece in the biography of Pierce by D.W. Bartlett, published in 1855. The extant lithographs variously attribute the original daguerreotype to either "M.A. Root" (for Marcus Aurelius Root) or simply "Root." The daguerreotype here is presented with a mat stamped, "S. Root," the imprint of Samuel Root, brother to Marcus.
The brothers possibly operated in Philadelphia in 1848, and by 1849, Marcus (1808-1888) had opened a photographic studio in New York and placed Samuel in charge. Together, the brothers exhibited at the American Institute, Castle Garden, New York and frequently advertised their awards and their notable image of Jenny Lind. In 1864, Marcus published the only history of photography to be published in the 19th century, The Camera and the Pencil. From 1851-1853, Marcus and Samuel Root were listed Daguerreians at 363 Broadway, and both were listed in the 1851-52 and 1852-53 directories. By the end of 1851, however, Marcus had sold out his interest in the gallery and it continued under Samuel and J.W. Thompson as Root & Co. In 1852-53, Root & Co. were listed as Daguerreians at the 363 Broadway address. From 1853-1857, Samuel Root was listed as a Daguerreian at the 363 Broadway address and lived there as well. There was no partnership listing in this directory. While it was possible that Marcus was still involved in some capacity at the studio, it seems that this image was created by Samuel around 1852 when Pierce was the Democratic candidate for president.References: PFISTER, Harold Francis. Facing the Light: Historic American Portrait Daguerreotypes. Washington DC: National Portrait Gallery, 1978.Some tarnishing at edges, some spotting and surface scratches. Crack to oval frame.Condition
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