[Three Planters]

Unknown

Not on view

This portrait of three men–likely Southern planters, based on their clothing–is an exquisite example of the unparalleled pictorial resolution and illusory three-dimensionality of the finest daguerreotypes. Upon close inspection, one can distinguish the older man’s fine straw hat from the felt headgear worn by his associates. So, too, his suit of striped cotton with fabric-covered buttons differs from the linen clothing worn by the younger men. Their button-fly pants date the picture to after 1845, when this style was introduced to America despite the protests of the religious community, who saw the flap as a license to sin.

[Three Planters], Unknown (American), Daguerreotype

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[Three Planters], Unknown (American), Daguerreotype
[Three Planters], Unknown (American), Daguerreotype
[Three Planters], Unknown (American), Daguerreotype

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