First shown to the public in January 1839 by their inventor, the Romantic painter, showman, and entrepreneur Louis Daguerre, daguerreotypes are one-of-a-kind photographic images on highly polished, silver-plated sheets of copper, sensitized with iodine, exposed in camera, and developed in mercury fumes. Like many early daguerreotypes, this portrait is laterally reversed, left to right, as can be seen in the decoration on the sitter’s lapel. The commandeur’s sidelong glare, intense features, and black coat and hat boldly silhouetted against the softly focused, solarized background all make this one of the more compelling examples of early photographic portraiture.