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[Boy Holding a Daguerreotype]

Unknown

Not on view

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.

[Boy Holding a Daguerreotype], Unknown (American), Daguerreotype with applied color

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