An affecting sixth plate post-mortem daguerreotype of a deceased child, identified as Winfield Curtis Davis, pictured in repose with his grieving father. The young boy, dressed formally with rosy-tinted cheeks, rests in his father's lap. The father stares solemnly into the lens, one hand resting gently across the boy's lap, the other on his own knee, a delicate lace antimacassar draped behind them. The image exhibits skilled composition and lighting, with faint hand-coloring to the cheeks and fabric. The plate is housed in a complete pressed leather case with a maroon velvet pad bearing the embossed photographer’s stamp: “WILLARD / 120 W. MARKET ST. / BROOKS’ ELEGANT CASES.” This identifies the work of Oliver Willard, active in Philadelphia from 1854–1860, with listings at this address from 1854 to 1857.

Accompanying the image is a rare original printed mourning broadside, giving the child’s full name, age, 3 years, 3 months, and 14 days, and poetic elegy, as well as the funeral details: to proceed from the parents’ residence at 10 Fleming Street, Philadelphia, to Old Fellows' Cemetery on Monday, the 28th. The verso of the broadside retains faint traces of old adhesive, suggesting it may have originally been housed behind the image or case lid.

A poignant and complete example of American post-mortem memorial photography, with full provenance and rare association to a named Philadelphia photographer and an intact period death notice.