Photographic and manuscript archive comprising two cased sixth-plate daguerreotypes, two large oval albumen portrait prints mounted to card by B.F. Reimer of Philadelphia (dated 1859), two cabinet card portrait photographs by Gilbert & Bacon, Philadelphia, and associated family manuscript provenance notes. Ca 1845 - 1880s. Cased plates measure 2 3/4 x 3 1/4 in. each; oval paper mounts approx. 5 1/4 x 7 in.; cabinet cards 4 1/4 x 6 1/2 in.

A well-documented, multigenerational photographic archive chronicling Captain Benjamin Clark Down (1805 - 1867) and his wife Mary Tharp Gardiner Down of Glassboro, Gloucester County, New Jersey.

The centerpiece of the archive is a gorgeous sixth-plate architectural daguerreotype capturing the prominent Captain Down family homestead on Mullica Hill Road in Glassboro, constructed in 1837. The sharp outdoor plate documents the two-and-a-half-story Federal-style home in full perspective, complete with a rooftop balustrade, dormer windows, porch wing, and surrounding picket fence and shade trees.

Accompanying the architectural plate is a sixth-plate portrait daguerreotype of Captain Down in a dark coat and neckwear, housed in a leather case tray. The lot further includes two oval 1859 photographic prints by Philadelphia photographer B.F. Reimer depicting Captain Down and Mary Down in bonnet cap, with Reimer’s printed studio label on the reverse; two later cabinet card portraits by Gilbert & Bacon; and rich manuscript recollections detailing the home's interior furnishings, brass door hardware, and grounds.

Captain Benjamin Clark Down stands as a key figure in the antebellum industrial expansion of South Jersey, bridging coastal maritime trade with the thriving glass manufacturing boom centered in Gloucester County.  This archive survives not merely as a family heirloom, but as a primary visual benchmark for early New Jersey architectural history.

[Daguerreotype, Sixth Plate, Outdoor Daguerreotype, Architectural Photography, Captain Benjamin Clark Down, Glassboro New Jersey, Gloucester County, South Jersey, Mullica Hill Road, Federal Architecture, Widows Walk, B.F. Reimer, Gilbert and Bacon, Philadelphia Photography, Mary Gardiner Down, Family Archive, Ephemera]

Very good overall condition. The architectural daguerreotype retains strong contrast and fine detail, showing honest light peripheral tarnish. The cased portrait plate displays solarization haloing and scattered dusting under the glass. Paper prints and cabinet cards are clean with light, uniform toning. Cases show expected age wear along edges and hinges.