A sixth plate daguerreotype portrait of an unidentified woman, made by Samuel Broadbent, one of the most widely traveled daguerreians of the mid-nineteenth century. The imprint "BROADBENT" is stamped into the lower corner of the gilt mat, placing the work within his documented Philadelphia practice at 136 Chestnut Street, active from 1852 to 1857. The image is presented without a case, the gilt mat and preserver intact, seated within a rope-bordered oval opening.

The subject is a middle-aged woman shown bust-length, her dark hair parted at center and dressed in tight curls at each temple. She wears a black dress with a lace-trimmed collar, a dark ribbon tied at the neckline, and a small circular brooch at the top button. Her expression is composed and direct, and her gaze meets the lens with quiet confidence.

Samuel Broadbent (1810–1881), born in Wethersfield, Connecticut, reportedly learned the daguerreotype process from Samuel F. B. Morse and maintained one of the longest and most geographically extensive careers of any American daguerreian, operating in New York, across the South, and ultimately anchoring his later career in Philadelphia, where his firm continued under his sons following his death in 1881.

The photographer's name "BROADBENT" appears stamped in relief on the lower left corner of the gilt mat.

Property of a Palmer, Massachusetts gentleman.