Half plate occupational portrait tintype. N.p., ca. 1860s. Housed in a dark brown quarter-plate thermoplastic case.

A visually striking American occupational portrait documenting a proud craftsman in the trades of transport and carpentry. Standing full-length before a plain studio wall, the young tradesman wears working garb: an unbuttoned waist apron over rolled white shirtsleeves, work trousers, boots, and a brimmed work cap pushed back on his brow. Suspended from his vest is a watch fob, while held prominently in his left hand is an essential trade implement, a heavy folding rule. Resting his right hand with pride, he stands beside his finished masterpiece: a massive, multi-spoked wooden wagon wheel with an iron hub and iron-shod rim, rising nearly to his chest.

Wheelwrights occupied a pivotal, highly skilled trade in 19th-century America, combining precise joinery and blacksmithing to forge the wooden hubs, spokes, fellies, and shrunk-iron tires that kept stagecoaches, farm wagons, and buggies rolling across the nation.

[Tintype, Ferrotype, Quarter Plate, Occupational, Wheelwright, Carriage Maker, Wagon, Spoked Wheel, Carriage Wheel, Folding Ruler, Tools, Tradesman, Carpenter, Blacksmith, Work Clothes, Thermoplastic Case, Union Case, Cased Image, 1860s Photography, Americana]

Very good condition. The tintype exhibits strong clarity, excellent contrast, and crisp resolution. The surface plate displays minor scattered dust and faint oxidation from a previous brass mat on the far right side of the plate.