Bust of Henry Clay by Richards
SOLD October 2008 |
A rare American stereo daguerreotype of a period bust of Henry Clay, by Frederick DeBourg Richards, Philadelphia. With reverse label reading "Stereoscopes Made and For Sale by Richards, 179 Chestnut Street, Philada...." and sellers label for "McAllister & Co. Opticians 48 Chestnut St. Philada". Original seals intact.
Henry Clay, representative and senator from Kentucky, and presidential aspirant, was one of the most prominent statesman of the daguerreian era, standing with such figures as Daniel Webster and John Calhoun. His fame made him a popular subject for period engravings, paintings and sculpture. Another sculpted bust of Clay can be seen in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, viewable online by following this link. In line with period tastes, Clay is here depicted in a classical garb that evokes associations with the statesmen of the Roman republic, often taken as a model by the young American nation.
American stereo daguerreotypes in this format are very rare, and all the more so to find a signed example by the Philadelphia artist and daguerreotypist Frederick DeBourg Richards, and one identified as sold through the shop of the McAllisters, themselves important pioneers in photography. One cannot but wonder whether Richards work as a period painter might not have brought him into contact with the craftsman responsible for the bust shown. In any case, his artist's eye assisted him in choosing an image of Clay which shows the "breath of life" from many angles.
The two still-sealed images of this pair are crisp, well-lit, and in superb condition, with only minor speckling under the glass and a growth of mold spider in the lower right of each image. (Defects under the glass are greatly exaggerated in the scans.). As with other examples of Richard's stereoviews I have seen, the stereo effect seems to be an extreme hyper-stereo which comes across as distorting, at least in standard viewers. Judging by the back of mount, each image is between sixth and ninth plate in size. Overall dimensions of the mount are about 3-1/8 x 6-7/8 inches (8x17 cm).
An opportunity to own a truly unique period object.
