Quarter-plate studio portrait daguerreotype. N.p., ca. mid-1850s. Housed in a wonderful black thermoplastic union case featuring the iconic “Alone at the Rendezvous” motif (Berg 1-32).

A visually arresting, highly detailed fraternal portrait depicting a member of the Masonic Knights Templar in full ceremonial regalia. Posed three-quarter standing against a neutral studio backdrop with a carved chair beside him, the clean-shaven, bespectacled officer looks squarely into the camera. He is crowned with a cocked chapeau-de-bras hat adorned with rosettes and bullion trims, worn over a dark frock coat and high collar. Across his chest is a wide baldrick sash bearing an ornate jewel, while at his waist hangs a heavily fringed triangular apron embellished with Masonic insignia, including the square and compass. He wears heavy gauntlets prominently displaying the Passion Cross on the flared cuff, resting his left hand against the hilt of a sheathed fraternal sword.

The presentation is further elevated by its housing in a quarter-plate thermoplastic case, “Alone at the Rendezvous,” which illustrates a contemplative woman seated sidesaddle upon a horse, accompanied by a resting hound in a lush woodland glade within a bold rococo frame. 

[Daguerreotype, Quarter Plate, Masonic, Freemasonry, Knights Templar, Chapeau, Tricorn, Apron, Sash, Gauntlets, Sword, Fraternal Regalia, Spectacles, Thermoplastic Case, Union Case, Alone at the Rendezvous, Cased Image, 19th Century Photography]

Very good condition. The daguerreotype exhibits fine focal clarity, deep contrast, and crisp resolution. Original paper seals remain intact. The plate displays only minor scattered pinpoint dusting beneath the glass and faint peripheral tarnish.