Daguerreotype of a boy holding a white baby
date: label: Date
content: 1850s
name: label: Photograph by
content: Unidentified
label: Subject of
content: Unidentified Child or Children
notes: label: Caption
content: The daguerreotype was the prevailing form of photography in America from 1839 until the late 1850s. Since the daguerreotype process did not involve a negative, each was a unique image. This daguerreotype is an extremely high quality production indicated by the very expensive plate with its hand buffed surface.
label: Caption
content: The image presents a unique portrayal of a black servant caring for the white master’s child. Here, rather than the usual “mammy” holding an infant, a black male youth holds a young child looks directly into the camera. The photo is so early, he would not have been influenced by the usual protocol for such portraits, such as looking to the side while “posing.”
label: Description
content: A cased daguerrotype depicting a black boy holding a white male baby on his lap. The baby wears a dotted gown and has hair fashioned into ringlets. The boy wears a dark colored jacket with three bright buttons at the cuff and looks straight ahead at the camera, his hands at the baby's waist. The daguerrotype is in a rectangular gold metal frame with a curved top, and housed in a hinged brown case with red velvet interior and two hook and eye clasps on one edge.
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Children
label: Topic
content: Photography
label: Topic
content: Slavery
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Slavery and Freedom Objects
label: Classification
content: Photographs and Still Images
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2010.37
objectType: label: Type
content: daguerreotypes
label: Type
content: portraits
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Public domain
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: silver amalgam, silver on copper photographic plates
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (Image): 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 in. (14 x 10.8 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (Closed): 5 15/16 × 4 7/8 × 3/4 in. (15.1 × 12.4 × 1.9 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (Open): 5 15/16 × 9 5/8 × 3/8 in. (15.1 × 24.4 × 1 cm)