WHOLEPLATE SALT PRINT BY MCCLEES AND GERMON…..

They were of the top tier making daguerreotypes as a partnership from 1848-55 in Philadelphia.  I suspect this image was made in 1855 or shortly after.  McClees had gone the previous year to Boston to learn photographic processes from  James W. Black. Black was making salted paper prints in 1854 and McClees being a cutting edge artist, wanted to learn. The result is a tremendously well preserved whole plate image. It is held in an excellent case that remains in good shape and is original to the piece. The old seal was dots that held the paper to the back side of the mat had long ago lost their grip, but luckily nobody ever disturbed Mr. Fales’ image.  Samuel Bradford Fales was originally from Boston, went to Harvard, and was directly related to the famed  William Bradford, first Governor of  Massachusetts. He moved to Philadelphia shortly after college and got into the importing/commissions business. At the onset of the war, he was poised to use his influence for good. He founded the Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon and Hospital, which served 800,000 soldiers over the course of the war, sometimes seeing up to 7,000 come through daily. He was one of very few civilians awarded The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States,  Besides this lasting endeavor, he was well known for his art collection. Not of the true type, looking for just famed names, he bought what he liked and found beautiful. Upon his death in 1880, he was buried at the famed Auburn Hills Cemetery in Boston. His art and literature collection was so renowned that it was sold in 1881 with a catalogue that could also be purchased.