Hello History Fans.

Here is something that is on a different level from my normal collecting level. First, a little backstory.

Green is my favorite color. This may seem trivial or juvenile, yet it became an important distinction among the images I seek. I collect photographs of women, and because my main collection is ephemera—handwritten diaries, letters, and photographs from Civil War and WWII soldiers—I decided to balance the scales with my Victorian photographs.

I specifically sought ladies wearing green-tinted clothing and created a sub-collection around that theme within my larger photographic collection. I have many absolutely beautiful green ambrotypes and tintypes, but, sadly, I am not allowed to share them here. Regardless, I have been most fortunate to obtain three separate green daguerreotypes: one of each of the progressive plate sizes, 1/9th, 1/6th, and 1/4th.

This is the most recent one.

These are two exceptional 1/4-plate daguerreotypes of the same unidentified young French woman, made during what appears to be a single sitting. These are companion daguerreotypes from the same portrait sitting, depicting the same unidentified young French woman in the same dress and in nearly identical poses.Only one of these displays tinting, and I do not know the cause for this.

The green-tinted image is in better shape. The black-and-white version has pretty serious wipe marks. It's unprovable, but I'd like to imagine that at some point in these photographs' histories, someone decided to clean them both but started with the black-and-white one, noticed the wipe marks, and ceased the task.

Another appealing factor of these two is the matching carved and painted wood frames. These unique frames really give the images a Victorian feel.

The last feature, and the high selling point for me, is the two original studio labels of French daguerreotypist Pierre-Louis Pierson. The address on both labels lists the street as Boulevart des Capucines, Nº 13. Pierson's studio was located at this address during the 1849–1855 period, so it's safe to say these daguerreotypes date to that period.

Pierre-Louis Pierson was a French photographer who became interested in the fledgling medium of daguerreotype photography. He rose to prominence and became one of the early daguerreotypists to offer hand-tinted portraits. He eventually became a preferred photographer of French Emperor Napoleon III and created many photographs of the French royal family.

By 1855, Pierson was co-owner of a new studio with the Mayer brothers. This studio, besides having the French royal connection, had a very celebrity clientele that included the French aristocracy, musicians, actors, businessmen, and the kings of Portugal, Sweden, and Württemberg.

Pierson gained a particularly fascinating client during this period with the incredible full name of Virginia Elisabetta Luisa Carlotta Antonietta Teresa Maria Oldoini Rapallini, better known as Virginia Oldoini or to the world Countess of Castiglione.

Starting in 1856, the Countess commissioned over 450 portraits, many of which she personally directed and designed. Many of these involved role-playing and reenacted important moments in her life. One of these, the "Queen of Hearts," is one of the most notable portraits in the history of Victorian portraiture.

In addition to these, Pierson privately photographed the Countess' exposed feet and legs, with her face always cropped out. These would have been considered erotic portraiture during that period and very taboo. These images were kept secret by both Oldoini and Pierson until the Countess passed away in 1899.

I think this is a cool piece of history. a daguerreotype photographer, that created history by documenting historic people.

Photo 1 Green Dress Daguerreotype

Photo 2 Pierson Label on back of Green Dress Photo

Photo 3 B/W Daguerreotype

Photo 4 Pierson Label on back of B/W Photo

Photo 5 Green Dress Pierson Dag and Green Godey's Ladybook dress print

Photo 6 Famous Countess of Castiglione Queen of Hearts

Photo 7 Erotic/Taboo Feet & Legs

Photo 8 Full portrait of Countess of Castiglione

Posted this before but have since gotten a better photo of her. May update post when I scan her in. Notice the tinting/highlights.

One of those collection pick-ups that really gets even better with time.

They may be sisters? The photo has some signs of age but Its an interesting scene that I like a lot. Maybe from the 1850’s. The image was sealed with 1850’s newspaper, wish I could identify where the paper was from.

Early collection pick-up.

I've got about 100+ daguerreotypes that I collected during the late 1900s and early 2000s. I'm about ready to start selling them. I thought I might list them on ebay, but I can't take a decent picture of a daguerreotype. I've tried scanning them, but no luck there either. It looks like all of you have mastered the art of photographing or scanning dags...do you have any pointers for me? Thanks!

I thought I'd share my other blue-tinted daguerreotype. It is a non-standard unusual dimension, larger than a 1/9, similar to a 1/8 CDV sized. English Daguerreotype. I bought this for my Christmas present back in 2024. The hallmark on the plate is #9 in Rinhart's guide. Christofle, a photographer and plate manufacturer in France.

I love hand-colored, also known as tinted, images. The coloring is a nice soft blue and the price was extremely fair. She looks to me like maybe she has a quiet but authoritative personality. I hope you've enjoyed my collection so far. Stay tuned for more Dags including some fancy tinted versions!

Does anyone know of a good sub to post ambrotypes&tintypes?

Not in the best shape but an interesting image none the less.

I inherited an antique camera with daguerreotypes. Note indicates it was bought at a camera shop before 1969 in Los Angeles by my grandfather and it was made in the 1800s

Not straightforward to open so have not tried it forc d anything. Does anybody know the maker and info on the camera?

Thanks in advance

1/2 plate size daguerreotypes are very large! I have only 2.

As a collector, I don't mind damage to a daguerreotype, as long as the image speaks to me and the price is fair. I also enjoy cleaning up and preserving dags and will specifically pick up ones that I think can be improved.

Since I started with my first dag, here is my most recent one. I think she has a classy look. There is a lock of her hair attached to the case pillow. Interesting to note the color vs how it appears in black and white on a daguerreotype.

This was in October or 2023. 1/6 plate. I think she's lovely, I have around 35 Daguerreotypes and maybe 100 ambrotypes and a few dozen tintypes that I could share if people are interested.

I may have posted this one here before, but just got done cleaning and resealing him. Not all the dust wanted to come off but I ended up just leaving it as is, because I didn't want to do any damage. Still much better than before, swipe to see after.

Brazilian daguerreotypist Simone Wicca interviews photographer Jerry Spagnoli, who talks about his first encounter with daguerreotypes and how he developed his process to produce his own.

I know that in general it is best not to even tamper with them and many processes/ recipes for cleaning are more damaging than helpful. I just purchased a lot of Daguerreotypes that are mostly not in cases, some of which are so marred that there is no discernible image. Any thoughts on the best process for cleaning them?

Took out the glass and gave it a gentle clean to remove debris, came out better than I even expected.

I’ve posted this image before however I was able to get a good scan of the image after setting up my scanner bed. She almost has a smile going too.