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Portrait of Robert Hollingsworth (Class of 1849),
ca. 1849. Sixth plate daguerreotype. Photographer: William Shew, Boston.
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Label of William Shew inside case of portrait of
Robert Hollingsworth (Class of 1849).
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Preservation projects such as this one offer archivists
and conservators the opportunity to discover and document important
artifactual information about the objects under their care. This daguerreotype
portrait of Robert Hollingsworth (Class of 1849) offers a good example
of what can be found once a daguerreotype is taken out of its case.
In this instance, the photographer and casemaker, William Shew of
Boston, had placed a label underneath the plate.
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Plate mark found on daguerreotype portrait of Robert
Hollingsworth. |
Plate marks, stamps
put on the plates by the plate manufacturers, can help to determine
when an image was made. Platemakers, photographers and casemakers often
changed characteristics of their products as improvements were made.
Thus we can use the changes to help determine the date of the image,
though it is certainly possible that a daguerreotypist could use a plate
made at an earlier time. Furthermore, there are many plate marks for
which the plate maker has not been identified. The plate mark on the
portrait of Robert Hollingsworth is a case in point. The mark 
has not yet been identified in any reference source. |
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Exhibit Credits
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