Distinctive lot of three (3) cased daguerreotypes, ca. early-to-mid 1850s, comprising:

1. Half plate daguerreotype of a distinguished older woman. The seated portrait captures an imposing matriarch wearing a delicate white lace bonnet with wide flowing ribbons tied at her chin, dark day dress, and curled side locks. Housed under a heavy stamped brass mat and preserver within a black thermoplastic Union case (Krainik 13, "The Bowl of Fruit"), both covers featuring a footed compote heaped with grapes, pears, and orchard fruit within an ornate rococo cartouche. The interior is lined with a deep plum velvet pad. Small period inscriptions are behind the plate, showing this image was for a Mr. Finley in Jacksonville, Morgan County, Illinois. 

2. Quarter plate daguerreotype capturing a tiered studio group of four siblings. The composition features an older sister and two younger girls in striped cotton day dresses flanked by their younger brother in a buttoned jacket, resting his arm on a broad-brimmed straw hat. Housed under a heavy, sand-finished brass mat within an intact embossed leather case decorated with a floral urn motif, lined with a fading red silk pad.

3. Sixth plate daguerreotype depicting an outdoorsy young gentleman attired in classic 1850s California Gold Rush or frontier fashion, wearing a broad-brimmed slouch hat, loose overshirt or duster coat, patterned silk waistcoat, and knotted kerchief cravat. Housed under a classic oval brass mat and foliate preserver with a crimson velvet pad, encased in an embossed leatherette case featuring a nesting bird on leafy branches.

[Daguerreotype, Half Plate, Quarter Plate, Sixth Plate, Cased Images, 19th Century Photography, Antebellum Portraiture, Union Case, Thermoplastic Case, Fruit Cartouche, Berg 1-36, Sibling Portrait, Children Daguerreotype, Slouch Hat, Gold Rush Fashion, 1850s Fashion, Lace Bonnet]

Overall condition is very good. The half plate displays crisp focal definition and rich midtone contrast with faint, soft peripheral tarnish; its thermoplastic case remains intact with crisp relief, tight hinges, and sharp edges. The quarter plate sibling group retains good image clarity and detail across the children’s faces, displaying scattered oxidation spotting across the brass mat face and typical light surface wipe lines. The sixth plate slouch-hat portrait is clean and exceptionally sharp.