Sixth-plate daguerreotype plate housed under an early octagonal-cut, sand-finish gilt brass mat, preserver, and cover glass, enclosed in an untouched dark brown pressed leather miniature case featuring a purple watered-silk facing pad and brass push-button release catch. Attributed to the Plumbe National Daguerrian Gallery (John Plumbe Jr., New York, Boston, or Philadelphia), ca. 1844 - 1847. Stamped in relief along the lower right diagonal bevel of the brass mat face: "PLUMBE". Plate measures approx. 2 3/4 x 3 1/4 in.; case measures approx. 3 1/4 x 3 3/4 in.

A tour-de-force of early American daguerreian studio technique and high-bourgeois Victorian material culture. The seated subject is rendered in half-length with luminous soft-light illumination, displaying striking poise and quiet authority. She wears a structured, high-fashion silk day cap and dramatic bonnet adorned with white silk ribbons, a gathered trailing white lace veil, and an intricate cluster of rosettes, lace rosettes, and pearls framing both cheeks. Draped over a dark silk dress with pleated, ruffled cuffs is a fringed cape, secured at her throat with a lace collar and an oval brooch pin accented in delicate hand-applied gold leaf. A fine, multi-strand gold watch chain loops gracefully from her neck down across her torso and disappears into her waistline. On her hands she wears rare, finely patterned black silk fingerless mitts, her hands resting softly across her lap.

In the right background, the curved crest rail of a classic studio armchair appear, a staple fixture of John Plumbe Jr.’s premier galleries. Plumbe, a visionary entrepreneur, photographer, and early advocate for a transcontinental railroad, opened his pioneering Manhattan gallery at 251 Broadway in 1841 and expanded across major Eastern cities to establish the world’s first photography franchise network. The crisp diagonal mat stamp "PLUMBE" remains one of the most celebrated and studied hallmarks in pioneer American photography.

Plates by Plumbe exhibiting this level of clarity, pristine tonal modulation, and immaculate period costuming have a place in even the most advanced collections. 

[Daguerreotype, Sixth Plate, John Plumbe, Plumbe National Gallery, 1840s Photography, Pioneer Photography, Antebellum Fashion, Victorian Bonnet, Lace Veil, Fingerless Gloves, Mitts, Gold Watch Chain, Brooch, Push-Button Case, Cased Image]

Very good to fine condition. The plate displays rich tones, and razor-sharp focal resolution. We note minimal perimeter tarnish and a few minor scattered pinprick dusting specks.