An elderly woman seated in three-quarter view occupies this sixth plate daguerreotype, housed in a leather case with deeply embossed scrollwork covers and a red silk velvet interior pad. The image is set within a gilt mat stamped with a rope-twist border pattern, and the imprint "TYLER & Co." is clearly stamped into the lower portion of the mat itself. The portrait dates to circa 1856 to 1857, corresponding to the documented Charleston, South Carolina operating period of the studio.

The subject wears a dark printed calico dress with a small allover dot pattern and full sleeves, finished at the collar with a wide white lace bertha and a softly tied white ribbon bow at the throat. A white linen cap frames her face and is tied beneath her chin. Her hands rest crossed in her lap, and she holds what appears to be a small dark object, possibly a book or purse, in her right hand.

Tyler & Co. operated at 233 King Street, Charleston, from December 1855 through early 1857, when the business was sold to Quinby & Co. The studio was among the most prolific of the daguerreian era, advertising mass production at low prices and claiming to produce hundreds of portraits daily, with a staff of gilders, colorists, coaters, and finishers working simultaneously.

The gilt mat bears the stamped imprint "TYLER & Co." at its lower edge, the sole identifying inscription on the piece.

Property of a Palmer, Massachusetts gentleman.