Michael Lehr Antiques
Live Auction

Fall Photographic History Auction, 2025

Sat, Sep 6, 2025 01:00PM EDT
Lot 186

Family Portrait Outside a New England Home, Daguerreotype

Estimate: $1,000 - $1,500

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Rare and evocative quarter plate outdoor daguerreotype of a family gathered outside their wood-sided home, almost certainly located in New England. A man leans confidently on a gate post, one hand on his hip, while two young daughters pose nearby in light dresses. A third child stands slightly behind them near a climbing vine, and a woman—presumably their mother—watches from the open doorway, holding an infant in her arms. The image is distinguished by its beautifully framed architectural composition and sense of quiet domestic pride, with well-maintained clapboard siding, shuttered windows, and climbing foliage adding further character to the scene.

The daguerreotype shows excellent exposure and clarity for an outdoor image, especially given the technical difficulty of capturing multiple figures in natural light at mid-century. Its subtle hand tinting and crisp contrast evoke a sense of time, place, and familial structure that few period portraits achieve. Housed in its original scalloped brass mat and deep floral design preserver. A rare example of vernacular outdoor daguerreotypy with multi-generational content and rich visual texture.

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