Cuttings Patent half plate ambrotype of a photographer with his half plate Lewis-style daguerreotype camera. The photographer poses with his arm around the principle instrument of his trade, which is prominently displayed on the cloth-draped table beside him. A sharp image that captures the subject's fingernails, blackened from the silver-nitrate stains typical of wet-plate photographers. In his opposite hand, the subject holds a cigar. Housed in full, split leather case. 

Provenance: Ex. Robert W. Lisle History of Photography Collection; previously sold in these rooms, December 5, 1998, Robert W. Lisle History of Photography Collection Auction, Lot 75; consigned by a private collector.