[Boy in a Library, Holding a Daguerreotype]

The boy in this picture clutches a cased image to his chest, as if to illustrate his affection for the subject depicted within. Daguerreotypes were a novel form of handheld picture, portable enough to slip into a pocket or palm. Portraits exchanged between friends and family could be kept close—a practice often mimed by sitters, who would pose for one daguerreotype while holding another.