Daguerreotype of the month
- Daguerreotype of the month, continuation -
Unfortunately neither the sitter’s identity nor the photographer’s is recorded. However, the source of the photograph may provide a clue. The plate was acquired from the Royal Polytechnic Institution in 1934. This housed the first public photographic portrait studio in Europe, which opened on the roof of the Polytechnic in March 1841. This studio was owned by Richard Beard, the holder of the UK daguerreotype patent.
Was the plate made at Beard’s studio? This is possible but there is another contender. John Jabez Edwin Mayall exhibited extremely large daguerreotype plates in 1849 and claimed he could "take portraits from 30 inches in length down to the microscopic size."
If the plate is by Mayall, how did it end up at The Royal Polytechnic Institution? The Institution contained an exhibition gallery, so that is one possible route. Most tellingly however, the portrait bears a striking resemblance to Mayall’s self portrait of circa 1844 (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Jabez_Edwin_Mayall), particularly when one allows for another five years or so of aging.