One of the earliest and most highly regarded Parisian photographers, Eugène Vaillat introduced polishing machinery to prepare his daguerreotype plates, giving them exceptional clarity. In this example, Vaillat portrayed the finely dressed British colliery owner and politician Thomas Charles Hanbury-Tracy, 2nd Baron Sudeley (1801–1863). Like a Dickens character come to life, this striking daguerreotype portrait is a fine example of the new medium’s great possibilities.