5 daguerreotypes. Varying sizes from 5.6 x 6.9 cm mat opening (case size 9.4 x 8.2 x 2 cm) to 8.9 x 6.6 cm mat opening (case size 12 x 9.4 x 2 cm). Each mounted under gilt brass mat in original case, the front lids lined with velvet. 1 daguerreotype with embossed name of the studio 'HOLMES 289 BROADWAY' in the mat at lower left. 1 daguerreotype with photographer's name 'E. LONG ARTIST ST. LOUIS Mo' in the velvet relief of the front lid. The daguerreotype of Long with slight oxidations along the edges of the mat opening. One anonymous daguerreotype with slight scratches. 2 anonymous daguerreotypes with detached front lids. Otherwise very good condition.
“The brothers Horatio H. Long and Enoch Long learned the daguerreotype process in 1842 under the tutelage of Robert Cornelius, in Philadelphia. They worked in partnership until Horatio’s death in 1851, first in Augusta, Georgia, and then as itinerants from Alabama to New Hampshire. They moved to St. Louis in 1846 and quickly established a national reputation. The Longs had high standards and pointedly advertised “No catch-penny pictures taken at this gallery.” (Keith F. Davis, The Origins of American Photography 1839 – 1885. From Daguerreotype to Dry Plate, exhib.cat. The Hallmark Photographic Collection at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, New Haven 2007, p. 53)