A seated man in three-quarter view fills this sixth plate daguerreotype, produced at the Manhattan gallery of Beckers & Piard, active at 201 Broadway between approximately 1849 and 1856. The image is sharp and well-exposed, consistent with the technical standards Alexander Beckers maintained throughout his career, and dates most likely to the early 1850s. The plate is housed in a gilt brass mat and presented under glass within a leather case with an embossed foliate and medallion pattern on the exterior.

The subject wears a dark frock coat with velvet-trimmed lapels, an open white shirt with a turned-down collar, and a light-colored woven waistcoat fastened with a row of small buttons. His dark, close-cropped hair is brushed back, his expression direct and composed, and his left hand rests openly on his knee while his right hand is drawn inward at the waist. The case interior is lined with red velvet stamped in a floral and scrollwork pattern.

Alexander Beckers was among the most technically accomplished daguerreians working in New York City. Trained under Frederick Langenheim and long associated with the Langenheim Brothers, he patented a daguerreotype plate holder in 1849 and pioneered the use of a reversing mirror on studio cameras. His partnership with Victor Piard at 201 Broadway produced work of consistent refinement throughout the early 1850s.

The maker's imprint is embossed into the lower edge of the gilt mat and reads "BECKERS & PIARD" on one side and "284 BROADWAY" on the other, though the principal studio address in contemporary directories is given as 201 Broadway.

Property of a Palmer, Massachusetts gentleman.