John Plumbe Jr. (1809-1857)
An Early Daguerreotype Portrait of a Women, early 1840s

Sixth plate monochromatic daguerreotype portrait of a seated women with her head rested on a table, staring directly into the camera, with brass oval aperture matte, stamped recto and housed in a red morroco side hinged case with green silk pad, plate is suffering from some tarnishing and lacks strong contrasts

John Plumbe Jr., born 1809 in Wales, was a railroad surveyor, author, editor, publisher and daguerreian. Notably, Plumbe established a franchise of daguerreotype studios and galleries throughout America in the 1840s. During this time he also manufactured cameras, miniature cases, and daguerreotype plates. Towards the end of the decade, he refocused attention to publishing and promoting his galleries and in Floyd and Marion Rinhart’s The American Daguerreotype (1981), he is credited as ‘probably the greatest promoter of photography, rivaled only later by George Eastman’ (p. 406).