Quarter Plate Daguerreotype of Six Historical Figures

Description:

Quarter Plate Daguerreotype of Six Historical Figures, America, c. 1849, this plate features a group of men believed to be five Northern abolitionists and a Southern politician, identified left to right as Joshua R. Giddings (1795-1864),John Adams Dix (1798-1879),John Alexander McClernand (1812-1900),Henry Alexander Wise (1806-1876),Levi Coffin (1789-1877),and John Parker Hale (1806-1873). The plate is mounted in a brass mat in a black leather covered wood case with red velvet interior, (case with repaired spine),visible area of plate 2 1/2 x 3 1/2; case 3 3/4 x 4 5/8 in.

Note: Levi Coffin was an underground railroad leader, Dix and McClernand later became Union generals, Henry Wise was soon to be governor of Virginia. This group may have gathered at this time to discuss the slavery issue prior to the Congress passing of the Compromise of 1850, a temporary solution to keep the nation united, or possibly they were discussing the nomination of a presidential candidate for the newly-formed Free Soil Party for the upcoming 1852 election. One of these six, John Parker Hale, a lawyer, senator, and statesman from New Hampshire, was the man later selected to be the Free Soil Party candidate.
Estimate $3,000-5,000

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