Husband & Wife Team, Female Photographer

“SGB” is stamped on the right hand side of the case and W.A. Reed on the left. W.A. Reed and his wife (who took over the business after he apparently died circa 1859) worked in Quincy IL circa 1854 to 1860 (or possibly earlier). Reed employed Miss C.J. McCormick as a camera operator and she continued to make daguerreotypes for his wife. The precocious child seated on a tiny table covered with a piece of fabric, wore a very decorative blue off her shoulders dress embellished with gold painted clasps. Someone in the gallery tinted the little girl’s chubby cheeks and also painted her shoes blue. Broad flowing patina formed a natural colorful vignette around the tyke. The depth is excellent. The mystery remains about the three letters embossed on the lower right corner of the mat. Resealed, the sixth plate case is apart.