14 photos
Thank you Mike Medhurst for offering this half plate daguerreotype of Caroline Putman (Main) Bard (1820-1897). Caroline was 28 years old when she sat in Jeremiah Gurney's first studio at 189 Broadway (1848). She married James Dorrance Bard (1816-1897) in 1840 and they had a son named James in 1849 who sadly died at the age of 4. James Bard was a gold pen dealer in New York City. Both of Caroline's grandfathers were patriots in the American Revolution - Corporal Nathan Maine (1756-1855) and Richard Hakes Sr. (1741-1815).
For those looking for the J Gurney mat stamp - all 189 Broadway stamped mats are dated from 1850-1852. Jeremiah's earliest images from 1840-1849 are unmarked, but key elements in this daguerreotype are - LH window lighting (only image in my collection to have a view of a curtain), distinct chair, round table and patterned table covering, diamond shaped carpeting, Jones & Co NY plate hallmark, re-silvered plate with steel grey back, sitter's pose and the dark backdrop. All of the boxes were checked on this stunning image - and of course it's an incredible executed daguerreotype that made Jeremiah famous.
For those looking for the J Gurney mat stamp - all 189 Broadway stamped mats are dated from 1850-1852. Jeremiah's earliest images from 1840-1849 are unmarked, but key elements in this daguerreotype are - LH window lighting (only image in my collection to have a view of a curtain), distinct chair, round table and patterned table covering, diamond shaped carpeting, Jones & Co NY plate hallmark, re-silvered plate with steel grey back, sitter's pose and the dark backdrop. All of the boxes were checked on this stunning image - and of course it's an incredible executed daguerreotype that made Jeremiah famous.
© Alphonse Gallery