Sixth plate composite portrait daguerreotype. N.p., ca. 1850s. Housed in an octagonal sand-finished brass mat within a separated full leatherette case with embossed floral motif. 

This unusual plate captures a studio reproduction of a pair of companion painted portraits, cleverly positioned side-by-side on the camera copy-stand. At left is a woman in a dark dress with a white ruffled collar and center-parted hair, while at right sits a gentleman in a dark coat, striped waistcoat, and wide black stock collar. Dividing the two framed canvases down the center line a decorative curtain tassel hung between the paintings, likely done to mask the meeting seam or add depth to the photographic copy. 

Families frequently commissioned daguerreotypists to photograph cherished ancestral paintings or fragile miniature canvases, allowing them to create portable, durable cased keepsakes for travel or distribution among relatives. 

[Daguerreotype, Sixth Plate, Cased Image, Photographic Copy, Portrait Paintings, Oil Paintings, Husband and Wife, Trompe l’oeil, Folk Art, 19th Century Photography, Antebellum Portraiture]

Good to very good condition. The plate retains clear midtones and sharp delineation of the original canvas brushstrokes and center tassel, showing faint scattered dusting, light surface wipe marks, and a pale peripheral ring of tarnish.