Elegant sixth plate daguerreotype portrait of a poised young woman, seated in a formal three-quarter pose and finely dressed in a lustrous dark gown with voluminous sleeves and an elaborately patterned lace veil framing her hair. A lace collar is fastened with a delicate brooch at the throat, and the sitter gazes off to the side with serene composure. The exposure, focus, and contrast are all exceptional, rendering subtle facial detail and tactile fabric textures with uncommon finesse.

Housed in its original leather case, the red velvet pad bears the embossed imprint: “HARRISON & HILL / ARTISTS / 385 FULTON ST. BROOKLYN.” Gabriel Harrison was one of the most imaginative and artistically influential daguerreotypists working in 19th-century America. A former stage actor and playwright, Harrison brought a theatrical sensibility to his photographic compositions, often striving for expressive realism at a time when most portraitists favored stiff formality. His brief partnership with G.W. Hill at the Fulton Street address produced a small body of distinguished work, and daguerreotypes bearing this studio imprint are quite rare.

In addition to his photographic work, Harrison is remembered as the author of the first biography of the American actor Edwin Forrest, and as a key figure in Brooklyn’s early artistic and literary culture. He was a contemporary and acquaintance of Walt Whitman and other leading intellectuals of the era. Daguerreotypes from the Harrison & Hill studio represent an important chapter in American photographic history and are prized by collectors for their scarcity, technical quality, and cultural resonance.