Sixth-plate outdoor daguerreotype. N.p., ca. mid-1850s. Housed in a full embossed brown leatherette case.

A charming, candid streetscape capturing an equestrian street scene, with horse and rider posed before a clapboard building. Centered in the composition, the dark steed stands patiently in profile over a hard-packed dirt roadway, bearing a young boy seated bareback upon its spine. The lad is attired in a tailored suit and a jaunty brimmed bowler-style cap, sitting erect with feet tucked up against the horse's flank. To the left of the mount stands a well-dressed gentleman in a dark suit, waistcoat, and bowler hat, casually posed with hands thrust into his pockets and a cigar clamped between his teeth. Behind the subjects, the exterior architecture displays a whitewashed clapboard facade, multi-pane double-hung windows, and a raised dry-stacked stone foundation.

Outdoor daguerreotypes featuring horses, livestock, and unscripted street backgrounds required quick chemical preparations and complete stillness from animal and rider alike to avoid motion blur. Crisp outdoor equine narratives of this caliber are rare and evidence of a competent artist.  

[Daguerreotype, Sixth Plate, Outdoor Photography, Vernacular Americana, Horse, Equestrian, Bareback, Boy on Horse, Smoker, Cigar, Bowler Hat, Architecture, Street Scene, Cased Image, 1850s Photography]

Very good condition overall. The plate exhibits fine clarity, rich tones, and crisp focus - especially for an outdoor image. We note only light, scattered dusting beneath the glass and modest peripheral tarnish along the opening edges of the brass mat.