SELECTIONS from the American Museum of Photography™

Unidentified Photographer (possibly Edward White)

Day-dream

Quarter-Plate Daguerreotype (3.25 x 4.25 inches)

circa 1843

Shown here without its arch-shaped brass mat, this masterful daguerreotype presents the sitter as if lost in thought, with a book beside him.

The inverted maker’s mark at the bottom of the plate reads “E. White Maker N.Y. Finest Quality A No. 1” Edward White manufactured daguerreotype plates (considered by some to be the finest ever made) from 1842 until around 1850. White also operated daguerreotype studios in New York and New Orleans.