Albert Sands Southworth
[Autographed Note by Zachary Taylor and Southworth & Hawes Business Card]

Public Domain

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Artist Albert Sands SouthworthAmerican, 1811–1894

Artist Josiah Johnson HawesAmerican, 1808–1901

CultureAmerican

Titles

[Autographed Note by Zachary Taylor and Southworth & Hawes Business Card]

Datelate 1850s

MediumDaguerreotype

DimensionsAt opening: 5 1/16 × 3 3/4 in. (12.9 × 9.6 cm)
Open: 1/2 × 6 1/8 × 9 5/8 in. (1.3 × 15.5 × 24.5 cm)
Closed: 13/16 × 6 1/8 × 4 7/8 in. (2 × 15.5 × 12.4 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Buddy Taub Foundation, Dennis A. Roach and Jill Roach, Directors

Object number2018.180

Not on view

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Department

Photography

Object Type

PHOTOGRAPHS

Description

Daguerreotypes were lauded for their
precision; by the mid-19th century “daguerreotype” was synonymous with accuracy
and truthfulness.

The
Southworth and Hawes studio was famous for daguerreotype portraits, yet this
work reveals a lesser-known aspect of the firm’s story. In the 1850s, Southworth
began a new venture—graphology, the “analysis . . . of questionable writing.”
Here, the studio business card sits atop a letter bearing the signature of
Zachary Taylor—one of the most sought-after autographs in the 19th century.
This photograph utilized the veracity of the daguerreotype, the status of the
partnership, and the lure of Taylor’s signature to attract customers eager to
authenticate their own documents.
ProvenanceThe Southworth & Hawes Studio, Boston; by descent to Edward Southworth Hawes, Boston; probably Holman's Print Shop, Boston, early 1940s; David Feigenbaum, Boston; [Sotheby's, New York, The David Feigenbaum Collection of Southworth & Hawes and Other 19th-Century Photographs, April 27, 1999, lot 43]; [Larry Gottheim], by October 2016; [Lee Gallery, Winchester, MA]; purchased by MFAH, 2018.

Catalogue raisonnéRomer, Grant B. and Brian Wallis. Young America: The Daguerreotypes of Southworth & Hawes. (New York: Steidl, 2005) p. 474, pl. 1882.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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