Getty Museum

Portrait of a Man in a Top Hat

Date

about 1856

Medium

Hand-colored daguerreotype

Culture

American

Department

Photographs

Institution

Getty Museum

Against a painted backdrop of an outdoor scene, a seated man in a top hat and waistcoat rests his arm against a book on a cloth-covered table and holds a closed umbrella. The small touches of gold that highlight his ring and watch fob would have added slightly to the daguerreotype's expense but would have made the portrait all the more precious. Across America, thousand of men, women, and children dressed up in their best clothes and presented themselves to the daguerreotypist. As with this man, their often-serious expressions reflected the momentousness of the occasion.

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