A companion pair of daguerreotypes capturing early painted likenesses of a prominent Revolutionary War medical officer and his wife. Each plate is independently housed in a classic, heavy gilded brass display frame with an octagonal inner aperture mat.

This lot presents a scarce and multi-layered historical narrative. While the daguerreotypes were manufactured in the mid-19th century, they depict much earlier, late 18th- or early 19th-century painted portraits. This practice was commissioned by families to duplicate heirloom artwork for multiple descendants. The physical presentation of the clothing, hairstyles, and flat portrait depth confirm the original paintings were executed during the Federal period.

The sitters are identified in accompanying documentation as Dr. Gustavus Brown Horner, an assistant surgeon in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, and his wife, Frances Harrison Scott Horner. The archive traces Dr. Horner's medical training at the age of seventeen under his uncle, the Surgeon-General of the Revolutionary Army, his commission as surgeon's mate, and his subsequent stations at Valley Forge under the personal care of the Marquis de Lafayette. Postwar, the family settled in Warrenton, Virginia, where Dr. Horner maintained an esteemed medical practice and was recorded as a resolute political defender of his close personal friend, Thomas Jefferson. Finding an intact pair of early daguerreian reproductions with Revolutionary War history is exceptionally difficult. 

The lot includes: 

1. Portrait of Dr. Gustavus Brown Horner: A quarter-plate daguerreotype reproducing a painted portrait of Dr. Horner. The composition shows the physician looking toward the right, dressed in a high-collared Federal-period coat punctuated by rows of bright gilt brass buttons over a white cravat. The integrated frame mat features an octagonal opening. A paper backing bears a detailed typeset and handwritten label reading: "Dr. Gustavus Brown Horner / 2-28-1761 – 1-24-1815 / Portrait 1807 age 46 / Daguerre-o-type of portrait after 1833."

2. Portrait of Frances Harrison Scott Horner: A matching portrait-format daguerreotype reproducing a painted likeness of Mrs. Horner. The sitter is depicted in a high-waisted Federal gown with an open lace collar and an oval miniature pendant necklace, her hair wrapped in an elaborate, voluminous white lace cap or tignon. A paper backing retains a matching historical tracking label reading: "Frances Harrison Scott / (Mrs. G. B. Horner) / 1764 – 11-27-1837."

Very good. Both plates exhibit typical peripheral tarnish and light surface haze beneath the cover glass, with minimal wear. The matching gilded brass display frames remain structurally flat and solid, showing honest handling scuffs, minor corner rubbing, and surface scratches consistent with age.