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The Silver Merchants

Case manufactured by Hiram Studley American
ca. 1850
Not on view
The first product photographs doubled as portraits. Posing with their wares, peddlers demonstrated a standard of work and an assurance of quality. The daguerreotype, a direct-positive image on silver-plated copper, offered all manner of workers an increasingly affordable likeness. Here, silver dealers make the most of the medium, modeling careful attention to their inventory. They examine pocket watches, pendants, and fobs splayed in a sales case. Plying their trade before the camera, they mirror the work of the era’s newest silver merchants: photographers themselves.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Silver Merchants
  • Artist: Unknown (American)
  • Maker: Case manufactured by Hiram Studley (American, active 1840s)
  • Date: ca. 1850
  • Medium: Daguerreotype
  • Dimensions: Image: 2 3/16 × 2 3/4 in. (5.5 × 7 cm)
    Case: 3 1/8 × 3 11/16 × 9/16 in. (8 × 9.3 × 1.5 cm)
    Approx. 6 1/2 x 3 1/2 in. open
  • Classification: Photographs
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Joyce F. Menschel Gift, 2017
  • Object Number: 2017.192
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs

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