Sixth-plate daguerreotype plate under an arched sand-finish gilt brass mat and rope-twist preserver, housed in a hinged miniature pressed-leather case with an embossed royal blue velvet facing pad and brass closure hardware. Ca. 1850 - 1855. Plate measures approx. 2 3/4 x 3 1/4 in.; case measures approx. 3 1/4 x 3 3/4 in.

A delightfu antebellum childhood portrait featuring one of the most desirable crossover accessories in 19th-century photography: an authentic early American cast iron toy.

The young boy stands in full length, gazing straight into the camera lens with wide, serious eyes and softly parted hair. He is dressed in typical mid-19th-century toddler attire: a short-sleeved, polka-dot patterned cotton tunic belted tightly at the waist over voluminous white pantaloons or linen trousers.

Resting his left elbow casually atop a studio-prop fluted neoclassical pedestal, he proudly displays his prized personal possession: a detailed miniature horse-drawn carriage toy. The cast iron apparatus is remarkably clear, revealing a standing horse figure hitched to an open carriage frame supported by delicate spoked wheels.

Early American cast iron toys from the 1850s are scarce artifacts in their own right. Daguerreian portraits capturing young children alongside their actual personal toys are far rarer. 

[Daguerreotype, Sixth Plate, Toy, Cast Iron Toy, Horse and Carriage, Sulky, Early American Toys, Folk Art, Boy in Tunic, Polka Dot, Child Portrait, Fluted Pedestal, Neoclassical Column, Cased Image, 1850s Photography, Material Culture]

Good condition. The silvered plate displays strong contrast and excellent mid-tone gradation. The surface shows soft perimeter halo tarnish along the lower right and bottom arch bevel, with light horizontal wipe marks from original processing.