A young man of striking appearance anchors this ninth plate daguerreotype, made at Silas A. Holmes's well-documented studio at 289 Broadway in New York City, active at that address from 1850 to 1859. Holmes was among the most significant daguerreians of the antebellum period, a practitioner whose Broadway gallery attracted serious patronage and whose technical innovations shaped the medium. The image dates to the 1850s and carries the embossed mat imprint confirming the Broadway address.

The subject is presented in a three-quarter bust view, his dark, loosely curling hair framing a strong face with a full mustache and a shadow of whiskers along the jaw. He wears a dark frock coat over a white shirt with a wide, softly knotted cravat at the throat. His gaze is direct and slightly intense, angled just off center, conveying a composed but unguarded presence.

Silas A. Holmes (1818–1886) was active in New York City from 1848 to 1860, working in partnership with C.C. Harrison at 289 Broadway before establishing his own listing at the same address. He was issued Patent No. 10,987 in 1854 for a "double camera" capable of producing stereoscopic and other images, and James Landy, later a celebrated portraitist, apprenticed under Holmes beginning in 1850.

The mat is embossed with the studio imprint reading "Holmes, 289 Broadway," set within a gold-toned preserver inside a leather case with a geometric herringbone and diamond tooled cover.

Property of a Palmer, Massachusetts gentleman.