Street-level sixth plate daguerreotype by John P. Garrett, who operated as a daguerreian in South Trenton, New York, during 1859–1860. The image captures what may be an auction or political gathering, with a crowd forming on the porch and street outside a two-story building bearing the legible signage “Churchill Store.” A group of mounted men appear in the foreground, backs turned to the camera, while civilians and possibly uniformed figures gather to the left. The tightly packed composition includes men in stovepipe hats and varied attire, suggesting a mid-century town center event of regional importance.

The photograph is housed under an exceptionally rare patterned white mat, an uncommon variant that adds to its historical and aesthetic value. The architectural features, such as second-story shutters, porch columns, and signage, offer a rich source for further research. Though the plate bears tarnish and period ink scoring, the image retains strong visual clarity in the key subject areas. Garrett’s documented work includes a small number of town views from central New York, and this plate likely represents one of the few surviving social street scenes from his brief working period.



Provenance and Context for the Garrett Daguerreotypes

The remarkable group of daguerreotypes offered here originate directly from the Garrett family holdings and were first dispersed in the 1970s, when they changed hands a couple of times before being acquired by noted early photography collector Yann Mailett. Held privately since that time, the collection was recently sold by Mailett as a single lot and is now being offered for the first time as individual items. The grouping represents a rare and cohesive visual record of mid-19th century life and architecture near Utica, New York, as documented by John P. Garrett, a little-known daguerreian active in South Trenton circa 1859–1860.

From the internal evidence within the collection, a compelling narrative emerges connecting Garrett to Stephen S. Rounds, a better-documented Utica photographer. Two daguerreotypes in the group feature the same corner building, with signs in the windows identifying it first as Rounds’ skylight daguerrean rooms and later as Garrett’s. The consistent angle and architectural features confirm the transition of ownership and operation from Rounds to Garrett around 1859, matching the dates found in period directories. While Rounds operated at 162 Genesee Street from 1856 to 1861, Garrett’s brief tenure as a photographer appears to coincide precisely with his acquisition of the studio.

The images preserved by the Garrett family span street scenes, vernacular architecture, commercial buildings, and private residences, many of which bear hallmarks of a professional’s hand—clear focus, balanced compositions, and even experimentation with color tinting. Taken together, they form an invaluable record of a rural New York photographer whose work bridges the professional lineage of the region’s photographic history, now illuminated through these surviving works.