Image of a small wooden structure, likely the home or working studio of daguerreotypist John P. Garrett of South Trenton, New York, captured in a quiet winter setting with snow on the ground. The building is flanked by two chimneys and features shuttered windows, bare trees, and a worn footpath leading to a prominent central doorway. Two figures are faintly visible standing in the doorway, suggesting a posed presence despite the challenging exposure conditions.

In front of the building stands a curious feature: a whitewashed board or wall braced upright by supports. This would have served as a neutral photographic backdrop for outdoor sittings, taking advantage of natural daylight for better exposure. The image speaks to the functional realities of rural photography in upstate New York, where studios were often makeshift and adapted to seasonal constraints. Daguerreotypes of photographers' own properties, especially including their working setup, are extremely scarce and provide direct insight into the material and environmental context of early American photographic practice.

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.