Not a rich person, I did not actively looked for daguerreotypes. Just wandered around and collected them like wild flowers. In between the years of 1976 and 1986 I managed to collect a box full of miniature cases with their hidden mirror like images. Daguerreotypes flourished between 1840 and 1860 and are one of a kind, I was happy to own a small piece of history. Common people starring into the future.
Daguerreotypes have special charm.
Hidden inside small cases opening like a book, sitting inside a velvety surrounding, framed by a golden decorated mat, shining proudly. We have seen the views taken by the Daguerreotype, and have no hesitation in avowing, that they are the most remarkable objects of curiosity and admiration, in the arts, that we have ever beheld. Their exquisite perfection almost transcends the bounds of sober belief. The scene embraces a part of St. Paul's church, and the surrounding shrubbery and houses, with a corner of the Astor House, and for aught we know, Stetson looking out of a window, telling a joke about Davie Crockett. All this is represented on a small piece of copper equal in size to a miniature painting.