Sixth-plate studio portrait daguerreotype. N.p., ca. early-to-mid 1850s. Housed in a full leatherette case. 

A wonderful occupational portrait capturing a working tradesman posed waist-up with the tools of his craft. Facing the camera with a wry, confident expression, the painter wears his dark hair parted cleanly on the right. His attire reflects honest trade wear: a light canvas work jacket showing tears and frayed rips across the left shoulder and sleeve, worn open over a high-collared light work shirt, knotted neckcloth, and dark trousers.

In his right hand, the artisan holds two wooden-handled paint brushes alongside a cylindrical metal paint tin, while his left hand holds his wide-brimmed slouch hat by the crown.

While many early occupational daguerreotypes depict tradesmen dressed in pristine Sunday best merely posing with a borrowed implement, portraits showing artisans in genuine, paint-splattered and torn working coats actively gripping the tools of their daily labor are scarce and highly prized character studies.

[Daguerreotype, Sixth Plate, Occupational, Tradesman, Painter, House Painter, Sign Painter, Paint Brush, Paint Pot, Paint Tin, Slouch Hat, Torn Coat, Work Clothes, Working Class, Character Study, Cased Image, 1850s Photography, Antebellum Americana]

Good condition overall. The daguerreotype exhibits sharp focal definition and fine contrast. The plate displays scattered age staining and tarnish spots in the background field, along with a scattering of small white dots and surface dusting across the lower third, all stable beneath the cover glass.