Bountiful America, Daguerreotype, Jaquith, c. 1855

An unusual half-plate daguerreotype reproducing a pastoral genre painting depicting a group of agricultural workers and sheep in a rural landscape. A woman carries a large bundle of harvested vegetation on her head, while several figures gather nearby. The composition reflects the nineteenth-century romantic idealization of rural life, emphasizing agricultural abundance, pastoral tranquility, and the relationship between people and the land. The image is housed in its original photographic case with a gilt brass mat and an elaborately embossed red velvet pad.

During the early years of photography, daguerreotypists frequently reproduced paintings, engravings, and other works of art. These photographic copies allowed existing artworks to be reproduced and distributed in a new medium. The daguerreotype’s exceptional detail made it particularly well suited to recording the fine lines and tonal variations of paintings and prints. This example, by Nathaniel C. Jaquith of 98 Broadway, New York, illustrates the use of daguerreotypy beyond portraiture and its role in reproducing the visual culture of nineteenth-century America.

Published in Mirror, Mirror: The Burns Collection Daguerreotypes (Burns Archive Press, 2012), Plate 85b.

Photographer: Nathaniel C. Jaquith, 98 Broadway, New York

Format: Daguerreotype

Size: Half-plate

Condition: Very good