A young child seated in a studio chair anchors this sixth plate daguerreotype, produced within a gilt scalloped mat and presented uncased as a framed display piece. The imprint visible along the lower mat border is consistent with the attribution to Elbridge G. McElroy, who operated near Lower Mills in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and is recorded under variant spellings including McEllery, active in the area from 1848 and again from 1856 through 1860.

The child wears a dark dress with a wide white lace collar and white cuffs, and long braided hair falls on either side of the face. A checked or plaid skirt is visible across the seat of the chair, and the child holds a slender whip or riding crop with both hands resting on the chair arms. A draped studio column stands at the right edge of the frame.

McElroy was also documented as operating in Dandridge, Tennessee, circa 1860 to 1861, placing this portrait likely within his Massachusetts period given the Dorchester mat imprint. The gilt mat features a rope-twist border with a scalloped inner aperture typical of daguerreotype presentation hardware from the mid-to-late 1850s.

Property of a Palmer, Massachusetts gentleman.