YEP!

The fellow really was a mason and the date that he posed for his sixth plate resealed (by a previous owner) portrait was written on the trowel, “1847”. Certainly, he dressed with aplomb for this very important occasion. Don’t you wonder what the actual colors were on his striped vest. Pale blue pigments were added by the daguerreian but I suspect that there were also other hues. The subject was bathed in bright light from the right and he blinked more than once while the lens was uncapped. Look at the curvature on the rim of his upturned top hat, placed next to him on that tablecloth woven in such a fanciful pattern. The complete leather case shows bare wood in places. The doubled dots on his shoulder was caused by a bubble in the cover glass. There are strong buff marks on the silver and I suspect that the piece was previously cleaned. However, the fellow views very well. And this sort of dated occupational is quite rare.