[Boy in a Library, Holding a Daguerreotype]

1850s
Not on view
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.
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.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: [Boy in a Library, Holding a Daguerreotype]
  • Artist: Unknown (American)
  • Date: 1850s
  • Medium: Daguerreotype with applied color
  • Dimensions: Image: 3 1/4 × 2 3/4 in. (8.3 × 7 cm)
    Case (closed): 3 11/16 in. × 3 3/16 in. (9.3 × 8.1 cm)
    Case (open, approx): 3 11/16 in. x 6 3/8 in.
  • Classification: Photographs
  • Credit Line: William L. Schaeffer Collection, Promised Gift of Jennifer and Philip Maritz, in celebration of the Museum's 150th Anniversary
  • Object Number: L.2019.57.20
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs